What is "whewellite"

Whewellite \Whew"ell*ite\, n. [So named after Prof. Whewell of Cambridge, England.] (Min.) Calcium oxalate, occurring in colorless or white monoclinic crystals.

n. (context mineralogy English) A mineral, hydrated calcium oxalate.

Whewellite is a mineral, hydrated calcium oxalate, formula Ca C O· HO. Because of its organic content it is thought to have an indirect biological origin and this is supported by it being found in coal and sedimentary nodules. However, it has also been found in hydrothermal deposits where a biological source appears improbable. For this reason it can be classed as a true mineral.

Whewellite, or at least crystalline calcium oxalate, does also arise from biological sources. Small crystals or flakes of it are sometimes found on the surfaces of some cacti, and kidney stones frequently have the same composition.

Whewellite was named after William Whewell (1794–1866), an English polymath, naturalist and scientist, professor of moral philosophy at Cambridge and inventor of the system of crystallographic indexing.