john977 Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 Can anyone help with the identification of these? Am not sure if man-made or natural, but based on sedimentary layering in the one, they appear natural. The "gourd" or "flower" part is finer-grained material than the "stems". However, the "stems" appear to be coarser material and may even show crystalline edges. They came to a local antiques dealer via an estate sale in the southwest (possibly Arizona). They do not appear to show any wear surfaces. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 Welcome to TFF! These pieces look like concretions. Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimB88 Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 look like cave features to me; perhaps a stalagmite - type formation. Or maybe a feeding trace. Just guesses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john977 Posted September 14, 2017 Author Share Posted September 14, 2017 55 minutes ago, ynot said: Welcome to TFF! These pieces look like concretions. I originally thought concretions as well, but they're not like any I have even seen before. The "stems" are different that the "gourd" portions on three of them and the "stems" look very similar among those three - similar texture and granularity, but the "gourds" have different coloration and grain size for the sandy material that they are composed of. Other concretion I have seen are usually uniform in composition or don't show this "stem"/'gourd" dichotomy. I have not tried sawing them since they are not mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 The "stem" is an unusual feature, but the "guard" part is a classic sand concretion. I still think they are concretions. Maybe after a sponge(?). Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john977 Posted September 14, 2017 Author Share Posted September 14, 2017 48 minutes ago, JimB88 said: look like cave features to me; perhaps a stalagmite - type formation. Or maybe a feeding trace. Just guesses. Thank you. I considered something similar to stalagmites/stalactites. I need to try dilute HCl, to see if the effervesce or not, but they are not mine. The grain size also appears too coarse for speleothems - these are fine- to medium-grained sand-size particles. Two show layering that make me think they were formed lying down, rather than in an upright position. 1 minute ago, ynot said: The "stem" is an unusual feature, but the "guard" part is a classic sand concretion. I still think they are concretions. Maybe after a spunge(?). Thanks. I'll see if I can section one - maybe the one that is the double. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFOOLEY Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 SAND-CALCITE CONCRETIONS FROM SALTON, CALIFORNIA. by Henry Windsor Nichols THE SAND SPIKES FROM MOUNT SIGNAL by WILLIAM B. SANBORN 6 "I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?" ~Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 47 minutes ago, ynot said: Maybe after a spunge o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john977 Posted September 14, 2017 Author Share Posted September 14, 2017 18 minutes ago, PFOOLEY said: SAND-CALCITE CONCRETIONS FROM SALTON, CALIFORNIA. by Henry Windsor Nichols THE SAND SPIKES FROM MOUNT SIGNAL by WILLIAM B. SANBORN Thank you VERY much. The articles are perfect and now I can tell their owners what they are. Thanks again for the article links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFOOLEY Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 Just now, john977 said: Thank you VERY much. You are very welcome. "I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?" ~Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john977 Posted September 14, 2017 Author Share Posted September 14, 2017 I'd like to thank everyone who posted a suggestion or comment on these. They have been identified as "sand spikes" or "sand-calcite concretions" from the southern California region. I have never seen concretions such as these and was a little reluctant to just say concretions. PFOOLEY (see above) gave links to two articles that described them in detail, so special thanks to him, but thank you to everyone else as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FruitofTheZOOM Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 Imperial Valley Concretions. Just about every socal rockhound has one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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