Habit: Dark red, violet red, red, rose red or reddish orange. Subhedral to euhedral crystals showing dodecahedral or trapezohedral forms; also granular or massive. Vitreous luster; transparent to translucent. White streak.
Environment: A high-pressure mineral that occurs in magmatic ultrabasic rocks, kimberlites and peridotites. Also found in alluvial deposits and as a detrital mineral in sedimentary rocks.
Etymology: From the Greek for "fire" and "to appear," because of its red color.