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).
Silicate minerals (quartz, feldspars, micas, hornblende, olivine, etc.) are composed of the elements silicon and oxygen-plus other elements-and are the most common group of minerals in the crust.