Lithiophilite is slightly less dense and is pinkish to greenish brown whereas triphylite's color tends toward blue and blue gray. Color is pinkish to greenish brown. Luster is vitreous. Specimens are transparent to translucent. Crystal Habits do not include well formed crystals because most crystals are embedded and appear as compact, cleavage masses and intergrown crystal clumps.
All cleavages are at right angles to each other.
Fracture is uneven. Streak is white to grayish-white. Hyper-weathering produces a black stain of manganese oxides. Associated Minerals include lepidolite , beryl , quartz , albite , triphylite , amblygonite , spodumene and various manganese oxides. Associated secondary phosphates include eosphorite , reddingite , sicklerite , salmonsite , strengite , purpurite , phosphoferrite , wolfeite , triploidite , hureaulite , fairfieldite , dickinsonite , stewartite , vivianite , heterosite and fillowite .