Breaking open Petrified Wood

[kozmik frakture]

In general, how much benefit can be found in breaking open petrified wood?  Looking for remains of the wood's internal structure.

 

Any info or comments would be appreciated

 

Kim

[doushantuo]

The inside is the most informative,biologically and taxonomically speaking.

It helps if you have a microscope

a good and well illustrated example of "technical" fossilized wood literature(15 Mb):

http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/6/2/21/htm

[paleoflor]

It depends on what you mean with "breaking open", what you want to see, and the type of petrified wood.

 

The naturally weathered outside of petrified wood can sometimes show the wood grain beautifully, as differential weathering can bring out the details, while other times specimens are poorly recognisable as woody. In the former case petrified wood can be (more) beautiful uncut.

 

In the latter case, breaking open a piece of petrified wood using a hammer may yield a fresh rock surface, which could show different details. However it is probably more rewarding to cut the petrified wood, e.g. with a slow saw. Making axial, radial and tangential sections will provide you with surfaces that have actual value in identification.