Magnesium sulfate or magnesium sulphate (in English-speaking countries other than the US) is a chemical compound, a salt with the formula , consisting of magnesium cations (20.19% by mass) and sulfate anions . It is a white crystalline solid, soluble in water but not in ethanol. Magnesium sulfate is usually encountered in the form of a hydrate , for various values of n between 1 and 11. The most common is the heptahydrate , known as Epsom salt, which is a household chemical with many traditional uses, including bath salts. The main use of magnesium sulfate is in agriculture, to correct soils deficient in magnesium (an essential plant nutrient because of the role of magnesium in chlorophyll and photosynthesis). The monohydrate is favored for this use; by the mid 1970s, its production was 2.3 million tons per year. The anhydrous form and several hydrates occur in nature as minerals, and the salt is a significant component of the water from some springs. Hydrates Magnesium sulfate can crystallize as several hydrates, including: Anhydrous, ; unstable in nature, hydrates to form epsomite. Monohydrate, ; kieserite, monoclinic. Monohydrate, ; triclinic. or . Dihydrate, ; orthorhombic. or . Trihydrate, . Tetrahydrate, ; starkeyite, monoclinic. Pentahydrate, ; pentahydrite, triclinic. Hexahydrate, ; hexahydrite, monoclinic. Heptahydrate, ("Epsom salt"); epsomite, orthorhombic. Enneahydrate, , monoclinic. Decahydrate, . Undecahydrate, ; meridianiite, triclinic. As of 2017, the existence of the decahydrate apparently has not been confirmed. All the hydrates lose water upon heating. Above 320 °C, only the anhydrous form is stable. It decomposes without melting at 1124 °C into magnesium oxide (MgO) and sulfur trioxide (). Heptahydrate The heptahydrate takes its common name "Epsom salt" from a bitter saline spring in Epsom in Surrey, England, where the salt was produced from the springs that arise where the porous chalk of the North Downs meets the impervious London clay. The heptahydrate readily loses one equivalent of water to form the hexahydrate. It is a natural source of both magnesium and sulphur. Epsom salts are commonly used in bath salts, exfoliants, muscle relaxers and pain relievers. However, these are different from Epsom salts that are used for gardening, as they contain aromas and perfumes not suitable for plants. Monohydrate Magnesium sulfate monohydrate, or kieserite, can be prepared by heating the heptahydrate to 120 °C. Further heating to 250 °C gives anhydrous magnesium sulfate. Kieserite exhibits monoclinic symmetry at pressures lower than 2.7