Lapidification. Lapidifying process. Conversion into stone. Etym., lapis, stone, and fio, to make.
Lapilli. Small volcanic cinders. Lapillus, a little stone.
Lava. The stone which flows in a melted state from a volcano.
Lepidodendron, a genus of fossil plants of the Coal Measures, intermediate in character between the Lycopodiums and coniferous plants.
Leucite. A simple mineral found in volcanic rocks, crystallized, and of a white color. Etym., λευcος, leucos, white.
Lias. A provincial name for an argillaceous limestone, characterized together with its associated beds by peculiar fossils, and forming a particular group of strata, interposed between the Oolite and the New Red Sandstone.
Ligniperdous. A term applied to insects which destroy wood. Etym., lignum, wood, and perdo, to destroy.
Lignite. Wood converted into a kind of coal. Etym., lignum, wood.
Lithodomi. Molluscous animals which form holes in the solid rocks in which they lodge themselves. The holes are not perforated mechanically, but the rock appears to be dissolved. Etym., λιθος, lithos, stone, and δεμο, demo, to build.
Lithogenous Polyps. Animals which form coral.