The nature of crystallographic reactive sites on the lepidocrocite (gamma FeOOH) surface has been determined by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy and compared to the surface bonding properties of goethite. To this end, the specific surface areas of lepidocrocite particles, and of their crystal faces, were calculated from the size and shape of individual particles determined by AFM, and the structure of Cd surface complexes was determined from Cd-Fe EXAFS distances. The combined results show that Cd forms solely mononuclear surface complexes, even at 100% surface coverage, and that hydrated Cd octahedra sorb on basal {010} and lateral {hk0}, {h0l} faces of lepidocrocite platelets by sharing edges with surface Fe octahedra. The absence, or scarcity, of corner-sharing linkage between Fe and Cd octahedra on the surface of lepidocrocite is in contrast to goethite (alpha FeOOH), where this type of complex is predominant. The explanation for the observed difference of Cd sorption mechanism on these two polymorphs lies not in the shape and relative surface area of their crystallographic faces, but in their different bulk structures and, specifically, in the stacking mode of anion layers (O2-, OH-) which is hexagonal in alpha FeOOH and cubic in gamma FeOOH. This study demonstrates that the stacking mode of anions in the sorbent solid is a key factor in determining the structure of surface complexes on mineral surfaces,