Petrified palm wood disc in beautiful metal stand.

Petrified wood, also referred to as petrified wood, is a type of fossil: it consists of fossil wood, in which all organic materials have been replaced by minerals (usually silicates, such as quartz), while preserving the structure of the wood. The process of petrification occurs underground, when a tree becomes buried under sediment, and can take millions of years. Groundwater that slowly seeps through the soil deposits minerals where the lignin and cellulose rot away. If the deposition and rotting go at the same speed, the shape of the cells is preserved. The smallest details can be immortalized. Fossilized annual rings and various tissues can be traced down to the microscopic level. Petrified wood has a hardness of 7 on the Mohs hardness scale, the same as quartz. The petrification process has now been reduced to a few days in a laboratory. Petrified wood occurs in a wide spectrum of colors due to variation in the deposits of minerals such as manganese, iron and copper. Quartz is colorless, but when iron is added, crystals appear with a red or yellow cast, as shown in the following list: Carbon - black Cobalt - green/blue Chromium - green/blue Copper - green/blue Iron oxides - red, brown, yellow Manganese - pink/orange Manganese oxides - black Silica - white, grey. Locations: Argentina: The Petrified Forest National Monument in Santa Cruz, Argentina, is considered one of the world's best-preserved petrified forests; many petrified trees in Patagonia are over 10 feet in diameter and taller than 100 feet. Belgium: the Goudberg geosite near Hoegaarden *Greece: The Petrified Forest near Sigri on the western tip of the island of Lesvos is probably the largest petrified forest, over 150 km². There are trunks up to 22 meters long. Large trees, complete with their roots, still stand upright. It has been a protected natural monument since 1985. *Kerguelen: remains of petrified forests that are ninety million years old have been found on the French islands. *Namibia: The petrified trees near Khorixas were probably carried as tree trunks over rivers from the north to Namibia. Some recognizable trunks are 30 m long. *Austria: in the state of Carinthia there are remains of a petrified forest near Laas. *Czech Republic: The largest stone is located in the Nová Paka museum village and is 8.20 m long. *United States: The largest specimens in the country reach approximately 6 feet (1.8 m) in diameter, making them significantly smaller than those found in southern America. A famous park is the Petrified Forest National Park in the state of Arizona.