Peanut Wood Slices - Western Australia
Highly polished peanut wood slices from Western Australia.
Peanut wood is a distinctive and unusual type of petrified wood.
It began as coniferous wood that washed into shallow seas during the Cretaceous period.
Wood-boring marine clams called shipworms tunnelled into the driftwood, which eventually became waterlogged and sank.
Pale sediment filled the burrows, and over time the wood turned into stone. These sediment-filled tunnels form the cream “peanut” markings that contrast with the dark brown wood.
No two slices are the same. Some show classic round to oval markings, while others reveal long, winding burrows. In places, the original wood grain is still visible.
Each peanut wood slice has a highly polished, smooth, glass-like finish. These slices are relatively fragile, so must be handled carefully.
The first two and second two photos show both sides of the same stones.
