Buggy Laurel - McQueen Ranch, near Sweet Home, Oregon - polished petrified wood

Description

Laurel (
Umbellularia sp.)
Little Butte Formation, Mehama Volcanics unit, Oligocene
McQueen Ranch, Sweet Home area, Linn County, Oregon
What an excellent specimen with the special feature of borer tunnels.  The genus
Umbellularia
(called by the common name Bay Laurel in California and the different common name Oregon Myrtle in Oregon) has only a single species that has survived into the modern era.  Notice in the photomicrograph that all of the vessels are surrounded by a white halo - this is called vasicentric parenchyma.  Note also that there is a limited vessel density in this wood,  All of these factors contribute to our ability to assign it to the genus Umbellularia.  It is curious that the boring insect has followed the growth ring so closely and as a consequence run into another borer within that growth band.
The McQueen Ranch has not produced petrified wood for quite a long time, but a recent logging operation and the attendant soil disruption has produced some really nice specimens -- and we think we have some of the best!  If you have been following our auctions during the past year you have already seen what interesting and beautiful specimens that the logging operation uncovered.  The lapidary that obtained nearly all of the logs and limbs continues to produce really neat pieces like this one, which is different!  The McQueen Ranch is directly across the road from the famed Holleywood Ranch which has consistently produced enormous amounts of petrified wood, but the two neighboring sites could not be more different in mineralization.  As a matter of fact, the mineralization diversity at the McQueen site is simply remarkable.  This is an interesting AND a beautiful small slab.  It measures
5" x 4" on the polished face and it is a 3/8" thick slab
We specialize in petrified wood and plant fossils which are accurately identified as to locality of origin and family, genus or species. We don't guess and when we don't know, we say so!  Your specimen will come with a label identifying the specimen, the locality where it was collected, the formation and age of the material and any other pertinent information we have gleaned from our literature search.
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