Apophyllite group

The name apophyllite refers to a specific group of phyllosilicates, a class of minerals. Originally, the group name referred to a specific mineral, but was redefined in 1978 to stand for a class of minerals of similar chemical makeup that comprise a solid solution series, and includes the members fluorapophyllite-(K), fluorapophyllite-(Na), hydroxyapophyllite-(K). The name apophyllite is derived from the Greek (), meaning 'it flakes off', a reference to this class's tendency to flake apart when heated, due to water loss. Exfoliation of apophyllite is also possible by treating it with acids or

Fluorapophyllite-(K), formerly known as apophyllite-(KF) and sometimes simply referred to as fluorapophyllite, is the most common mineral of the apophyllite group, with the chemical formula of KCa4Si8O20(F,OH)·8(H2O). It gets the first part of its name, "fluor", because it contains more fluorine than hydroxide compared to the other minerals in the apophyllite group.