Anthophyllite is an amphibole mineral with the chemical formula: (Mg, Fe)7Si8O22(OH)2, magnesium iron inosilicate hydroxide. Certain forms of anthophyllite are lamellar (forming layers) or fibrous and are used as asbestos. The name is derived from the Latin word anthophyllum, meaning clove, since that is the most common color of the mineral.
Anthophylite is the product of metamorphism of magnesium-rich rocks. Anthophyllite also occurs as a metamorphic mineral derived from rocks found with serpentine. In the United States it occurs in Pennsylvania, southwestern New Hampshire, central Massachusetts, Franklin, North Carolina, and in the Gravelly Range and Tobacco Root Mountains of southwest Montana.