Exposed Serpentine

Since I've made so many references recently to serpentine rock and serpentine soils and the plants (like the one just posted) that grow in serpentine soils, I thought I post a picture of the rock itself taken in the Siskiyou Mountains of California. The rock is the greenish-black rock that is exposed in the picture at ground-level and running up into the rock face. It may contain toxic metals such as chromium, manganese, cobalt and nickel and also contains asbestos. Its greenish color has earned it the name "serpentine" and it is the state rock of California.

ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/08/orchid-hunting-in-siskiyous.html