While rockhounding in Utah, we found a baseball-size piece of Petrified Palm Tree. Upon returning to the shop, we sliced it like a loaf of bread. When cutting across the grain, we can clearly see the porous tubes that are so characteristic of living Palm Trees. Using one slice, we cut this 40x30mm oval Cabochon, which we set in a Sterling Silver Pendant.
 
Fossilized or petrified palm wood, also known as Palmoxylon, is an extinct genus of palm found around the world. The plants lived from the Late Cretaceous (83 million years ago) until the Early Miocene (34 million years ago). The spotted look of palmwood is caused by tube-like vascular rods occurring within the central cylinder structure of the original wood.