Wavellite is an aluminium basic phosphatemineral with formula Al3(PO4)2(OH, F)3·5H2O. Distinct crystals are rare, and it normally occurs as translucent green radial or spherical clusters.[6]
Discovery and occurrence
Wavellite from the Avant Mine, Garland County, Arkansas, showing spherical structure (size: 3.4 x 2.0 x 1.1 cm)
Wavellite was first described in 1805 for an occurrence at High Down, Filleigh, Devon, England and named by William Babington in 1805 in honor of Dr. William Wavell (1750–1829),[4] a Devon-based physician, botanist, historian, and naturalist, who brought the mineral to the attention of fellow mineralogists.[7][4][6][8]
^Green, David; Cotterell, Tom; Jones, I.; Cox, D.; Cleevely, R. (2007). "Wavellite: its discovery and occurrences in the British Isles". UK Journal of Mines and Minerals. 28: 11–30.
^Curtis, Samuel and Hooker, William Jackson (1827). Memoirs of the Life and Writing of the Late Mr. William Curtis, Curtis's Botanical Magazine; or Flower Garden Displayed, v. 1 (new series), v-xxxii.
^Gemstones: Properties, identification and use by Arthur Thomas, p. 132.