Glaucous
Glaucous | |
---|---|
Color coordinates | |
Hex triplet | #6082B6 |
sRGBB (r, g, b) | (96, 130, 182) |
HSV (h, s, v) | (216°, 47%, 71%) |
CIELChuv (L, C, h) | (54, 51, 250°) |
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, women's shirts, 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.[1]
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.
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Wine grapes with glaucous coating
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Plums with some glaucous coating visible
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Cryptocarya glaucescens with a glaucous underleaf
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Glaucous Gull
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Glaucous-winged Gull
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Glaucous Macaw
See also
References
- ^ "Glaucous, a.". Oxford English Dictionary. 2010.
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