Can mold grow inside quartz rocks?

[Ashman]

I found what looked like some crystals along a wall where someone has dug at a long time ago. I even found what looks like a small orange citrine (I know it could be anything) attached to a piece of quartz from a recent looking rock slide. The quartz had more small looking pieces embedded into it as well.

I was wondering about the green looking areas on these rocks in these pics. Can mold grow inside quartz rocks? I wouldn't think so. I broke a small section open on this rock that you can see the orange stone and I spotted these green areas inside the rock.

Any thoughts or suggestions on these green areas ?

 

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[BurntBear]

The green looks like Epidote. Here is a good page about green mineral inclusions and such:

Guide to Common Green and Greenish Minerals

The orange crystal is neat. I don't think it's part of the Quartz family either.

 

[huntsman53]

Without seeing the rock and the green on it in person with a strong Gem Loupe or Microscope, there is no way for me to be certain what the green is! However, to answer your question, yes. Mold, fungus, lichens, algae or other similar substances can grow on the inside of Quartz and other rocks that are fractured. If there is a crack or are cracks in a rock that goes part of the way or all of the way through or a crack intersects other cracks and water (whether it be liquid or moisture) can get in and so can certain types of mold, fungi, algae and lichens can get into and grow inside rocks. It took me sometime to realize this and I picked up many a Quartz and other rocks thinking that the green or other colors inside were gems, LOL.


Frank

 

[DDancer]

One way to eliminate whether you have a mineral or an organic is to simply put the stone in a mild bleach solution for a day. The green will go away. Organics inside of translucent minerals like yours can get quite deep into a stone. The alternative to bleaching is to just keep the stone in the dark and very dry for a few weeks. Most lichens and all algae will die.
Yours does not appear to be organics. The orange material looks to me to be something other than citrine as the rest of the mass is not affected by the coloration and there appears to be structure to the inclusions. The green may be what Burntbear suggests and at a guess I think its a secondary deposit as its associated with the fractures.

 

[BurntBear]

I'm wondering if the little orange crystals are possibly Crocoite. It's found in California, Arizona and North Carolina in the U.S.

http://www.mindat.org/min-1157.html