A method commonly used to describe phyllosilicates, where a set of related polytypes is designated by a single name, usually a species name or a group name, followed by a structural symbol suffix that defines the layer stacking differences (after Guinier et al., 1984). The symbolism is based on the number of layers (first part of the suffix), which is followed by an italicized capital letter that defines the crystal system: C (= cubic), H (= hexagonal), T (= trigonal with hexagonal Bravais lattice), R (= trigonal with rhombohedral Bravais lattice), Q (= quadratic or tetragonal), O (= orthorhombic, previously Or), M (= monoclinic), and A (= anorthic or triclinic, previously Tc). A subscript “d” indicates disorder and a subscript “1″ or “2″ indicates that another polytype exists with the same number of layers and symmetry.
Cf. Ramsdell-style notation for chlorite