Prasio

Prase is a compact, microcrystalline variety of quartz. The name derives from the Greek "pràsios" which means leek. Indeed, it presents a color ranging from leek green to emerald green, sometimes intense; the coloring is not always uniform, often with green and whitish spots of little marble appearance, and is given by innumerable microscopic inclusions of actinoto, an amphibole. The translucent prasio, however, has a fairly varied transparency, generally cloudy with a slightly greasy lustre. It has no luminescence effects and as far as physical properties such as density, hardness and refractive index are concerned, they correspond exactly to quartz.
It mainly comes from the Saxon Erzgebirge, the Salzburg Alps, Finland and Scotland. In the United States, North Carolina, it is found in Cullakenee Mine and in Clay County, along with red corundum (ruby).
Prase is still in use in jewelry, it has poor value but, because is uncommon, it turns out to be a gem and a mineral of a beautiful colour and it can be confused with emerald.