Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BYS'SO-LITE, n. [Gr. βυσσος, fine flax, and λιθος, stone; so called from its resemblance to moss.]

A rare mineral, occurring in very delicate filaments, short, flexible and elastic. Their color is olive green, or brownish yellow, and their luster a little silky. Jameson places byssolite under actinolite; Haüy arranges it under amianthoid. – Husman. Saussure. Cleaveland.