''Glaucous'' (, ) 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
botanical
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...
ly as an
adjective
In linguistics, an adjective ( abbreviated ) is a word that generally modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun.
Traditionally, adjectives were considered one of the ...
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
A plum is a fruit of some species in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are called prunes.
History
Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found ...
fruit gives them a glaucous appearance. Another familiar example is found in the common grape genus (''
Vitis vinifera
''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, is a species of flowering plant, native to the Mediterranean region, Central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran. There are cur ...
''). Some
cacti have a glaucous coating on their stem(s). Glaucous coatings are
hydrophobic
In chemistry, hydrophobicity is the physical property of a molecule that is seemingly repelled from a mass of water (known as a hydrophobe). In contrast, hydrophiles are attracted to water.
Hydrophobic molecules tend to be nonpolar and, ...
so as to prevent
wetting
Wetting is the ability of a liquid to maintain contact with a solid surface, resulting from intermolecular interactions when the two are brought together. This happens in presence of a gaseous phase or another liquid phase not miscible with ...
by rain. Their
waxy character serves to 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
mammal
Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur ...
s 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 or prey difficult.
File:Close up grapes.jpg, Wine grapes with glaucous coating
File:Plums.jpg, Plums with some glaucous coating visible
File:Sedum_spathulifolium_4916.JPG, '' Sedum spathulifolium'' is a glaucous perennial herbaceous plant
Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials.
Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous"
The fourth edition ...
.
File:Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus) (13667579863).jpg, '' Larus hyperboreus'' (glaucous gull)
File:Blueshark 300.jpg, Blue shark
The blue shark (''Prionace glauca''), also known as the great blue shark, is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, which inhabits deep waters in the world's temperate and tropical oceans. Averaging around and preferring ...
(''Prionace glauca'')
See also
*
Lists of colors
*
Glaucus (disambiguation)
References
External links
*
Plant morphology
Shades of gray
Shades of blue
Bird colours
{{Shades of grey, US=yes, state=autocollapse