Variegated Maiden Grass. Variegatus is an antique maiden grass cultivar that has been in cultivation since the 18th century. The grass grows to 8 feet tall, with a spread of about 5 feet, producing light green leaves striped with white. In the fall, the grass boasts pink flowers.
You can think of elements as different sized marbles (except, in this case, the marbles are all very, very tiny!). Based on the relative sizes of the marbles, they can be stacked in different ways (see the figure). A good example of a simple mineral is table salt (Yes, salt is a mineral.). The proper mineral name for table salt is halite, and a geologist will often identify it by tasting it. Salt is composed of two elements; Sodium (Na) and Chlorine (Cl). Sodium and chlorine are strongly attracted to each other and stack together into a cubic crystal structure (see figure).
Salt is a mineral composed of sodium and chlorine. Neither can exist alone in natural form. Together, they form the chemical compound that is sodium chloride. To geologists, salt is known as halite. Salt is a crystal of the isometric system, meaning it is usually cubic and perfectly symmetrical. Pure salt crystals are colorless, although a pile of them will appear to be white. Impurities in the crystals may cause salt to be various shades of yellow, red, blue or purple.