Glaucous

Not to be confused with Glaucus.

Glaucous
— Color coordinates —
Hex triplet		#6082B6
RGBB	(r, g, b)	(96, 130, 182)
HSV	(h, s, v)	(216°, 47%, 71%)
Source		ISCC-NBS
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Glaucous (from the Latin glaucus, meaning "bluish-grey or green", from the Greek glaukos) is used to describe the pale grey or bluish-green appearance of the surfaces of some plants, as well as in the names of birds, such as the Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus), Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens), Glaucous Macaw (Anodorhynchus glaucus), and Glaucous Tanager (Thraupis glaucocolpa).

The term glaucous is also used botanically as an adjective to mean "covered with a greyish, bluish, or whitish waxy coating or bloom that is easily rubbed off" (e.g. glaucous leaves).

The first recorded use of glaucous as a color name in English was in the year 1671.

Examples

The epicuticular wax coating on mature plum fruit gives them a glaucous appearance. Another familiar example is found in the common grape genus (Vitis vinifera). Some cacti have a glaucous coating on their stem(s). Glaucous coatings are hydrophobic, prevent wetting by rain, and hinder climbing of leaves, stem or fruit by insects. On fruits, glaucous coatings may function as a deterrent to climbing and feeding by small insects in favor of increased seed dispersal offered by larger animals such as mammals and birds.

The blue-grey camouflage coloring of some species of birds and sea and land animals causes their appearance to blend with their surroundings, making their detection by predators difficult.

• 

  Wine grapes with glaucous coating

• 

  Plums with some glaucous coating visible

• 

  Cryptocarya glaucescens with a glaucous underleaf

• 

  Glaucous Gull

• 

  Glaucous-winged Gull

• 

  Glaucous Macaw

See also

• Glaucus (disambiguation)