Formula :
Al3[(OH,F)3/(PO4)2] * 5 H2O
System: orthorhombic Hardness:3½-4 Rarity:not common
Strunz id:VII/D.13-10 -
PHOSPHATES, ARSENATES and VANADATES
Name origin: Named by William Babington in 1805 in honor of Dr. William Wavell [20 December 1750 England - 15 May 1829 Barnstaple, England, England], a physician, botanist, historian, and naturalist in Harwood Parish, Devonshire, England, who discovered the mineral. Non-contemporary accounts suggest that Dr. Wavell discovered phosphate in the mineral, a constituent that was previously missed in analyses of hydrargilite. Dr. Wavell was educated in Edinburgh and was in medical partnership with Dr. William Curtis [b. 1746 Alton, Hampshire, England, UK - c1825 Branstaple, Devonshire, UK] - on Gracechurch Street, Barnstaple. Dr. Curtis was also an energetic botanist and also a correspondent with many naturalists (Curtis and Hooker, 1827).
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