It forms as white, green to reddish tabular monoclinic tectosilicate crystals with a Mohs hardness of 3.5 to 4 and a specific gravity of 2.1 to 2.2.

It commonly occurs as a devitrification product of volcanic glass shards in tuff and as vesicle fillings in basalts, andesites and rhyolites.

[6] The name is derived from the Greek words klino (κλίνω; "oblique"), ptylon (φτερών; "feather"), and lithos (λίθος; "stone").

On the other hand, it was added to cattle feed in order to bind and eliminate radioactive cations such as 137cesium as an ion exchanger in the digestive tract.

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, Mackay School of Mines, University of Nevada, Reno.