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leucite

Zeolite mineral

Entitymineral speciesQ419201

Instance of: mineral species
1
Sources
1.Stated in The IMA List of Minerals (March 2019)
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Subclass of: analcime framework (ANA)

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

Leucite (from the Greek word leukos meaning white) is a rock-forming mineral of the feldspathoid group, silica-undersaturated and composed of potassium and aluminium tectosilicate KAlSi2O6. Crystals have the form of cubic icositetrahedra but, as first observed by Sir David Brewster in 1821, they are not optically isotropic, and are therefore pseudo-cubic. Goniometric measurements made by Gerhard vom Rath in 1873 led him to refer the crystals to the tetragonal system. Optical investigations have since proved the crystals to be still more complex in character, and to consist of several orthorhombic or monoclinic individuals, which are optically biaxial and repeatedly twinned, giving rise to twin-lamellae and to striations on the faces. When the crystals are raised to a temperature of about 500 °C they become optically isotropic and the twin-lamellae and striations disappear, although they reappear when the crystals are cooled again. This pseudo-cubic character of leucite is very similar to that of the mineral boracite. Leucite is commonly found in igneous rocks, especially at Mt. Vesuvius

Overview

All data

37 statements · 46% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Nickel-Strunz '10th ed', review of (9th ed/ 2009 update): 9.GB.05
IMA status and/or rank: approved mineral and/or valid name (A) ima number, broad sense: IMA1997 s.p.
1
Sources
1.Stated in The IMA List of Minerals (February 2013)
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Named after: white language: Ancient Greek · object named as: λευκός "leukós"
1
Sources
1.Stated in A Dictionary of the Names of Minerals
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Nickel-Strunz 9th edition (updated 2009): 9.GB.05
Crystal system: tetragonal crystal system
1
Sources
1.Stated in mineralienatlas.de
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Type locality (geology): Mount Somma
1
Sources
1.Stated in Auszuge und kezensioneit bergmanischer und mineralogischer schriften
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Pseudo crystal habit: pseudo-cubic
1
Sources
1.Stated in MinDat
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IMA Mineral Symbol: Lct
1
Sources
1.Stated in IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Streak color: white
1
Sources
1.“Rocks and Minerals”
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Formula: K(AlSi₂O₆)
Strunz 8th edition (series ID, updated): VIII/F.02
1
Sources
1.Stated in Mineralogische Tabellen : Eine Klassifizierung der Mineralien auf kristallchemischer Grundlage, mit einer Einfuhrung in die Kristallchemie (1982)
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Space group: space group I4₁/a
1
Sources
1.crystallography.net/cod/9001795.htmlRetrieved 2026-08-16
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Point group: tetragonal-dipyramidal

On other databases

24 identifiers linking leucite across the web's reference databases

Data quality

statements

46%

externally sourced

Source last edited August 23, 2026. AIDB refreshes this page daily.

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AIDB. (2026). leucite (Q419201). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/leucite-Q419201