verdurites

Verdurites is a historical term in mineralogy used to describe green minerals or green masses found in rocks. The name derives from verdure, meaning green, and was applied descriptively rather than to denote a single mineral species. As a result, verdurite has referred to a variety of green materials in different localities, and the exact composition is not standardized.

Because verdurite is not a formal mineral species, there is no fixed chemical formula. In older reports, the term sometimes encompassed chromium-rich mica-like materials, certain green amphiboles, chlorites, or other silicate minerals sharing the verdant color. The term has largely fallen out of use as modern mineral classification relies on naming by specific mineral species.

Physical properties historically attributed to verdurites include a green color from pale to deep olive, a luster ranging from vitreous to dull, and a hardness that depends on the underlying mineral. Habit is often massive or foliated, and specimens may be opaque or translucent.

Occurrences of verdurite-like materials have been reported in metamorphic and hydrothermal environments, often in ultramafic or greenschist facies rocks and in vein systems. They are typically of interest to collectors and researchers as historical specimens rather than as distinct industrial resources.

Today, verdurites illustrate how color-based descriptors in early mineralogy evolved into the modern system of defined mineral species.