Min. [f. Gr. τρι- three + φυλή tribe + -ITE1, because it contains three bases.] A compound phosphate of iron, manganese, and lithium, occurring in greenish-grey or Bluish crystals. Orig. called Triphyline [ad. Ger. triphylin (Fuchs, 1834)].
1836. R. D. & T. Thomson’s Rec. Gen. Sci., III. 476. Triphylline…, from its consisting of three phosphates. It is described by Fuchs as being crystalline, cleaving in four directions; one of the cleavages is vertical to the others.
1850. Triphylline [see TRIPLITE].
1868. Dana, Min. (ed. 5), 542. Triphylite and triplite, like other minerals containing protoxyd of manganese, undergo easy alteration by oxydation and hydration.
