What is "herderite"

Herderite \Her"der*ite\, n. [Named after Baron von Herder, who discovered it.] (Min.) A rare fluophosphate of glucina, in small white crystals.

n. (context mineral English) A monoclinic-prismatic mineral containing beryllium, calcium, fluorine, oxygen, and phosphorus.

Herderite is a phosphate mineral belonging to the apatite, phosphate group, with formula CaBe(PO)(F,OH). It forms monoclinic crystals, often twinned and variable in colour from colourless through yellow to green. It forms a series with the more common hydroxylherderite, which has more hydroxyl ion than fluoride.

It is found in many parts of the world, often in pegmatites and associated with other apatite minerals.

It was first described in 1828 for an occurrence in the Sauberg Mine, Erzgebirge, Saxony, Germany. It was named for Saxon mining official Sigmund August Wolfgang von Herder (1776–1838).