Varieties of the color green may differ in hue, chroma (also called saturation or intensity) or lightness (or value, tone, or brightness), or in two or three of these qualities. Variations in value are also called tints and shades, a tint being a green or other hue mixed with white, a shade being mixed with black. A large selection of these various colors is shown below.
Core definitions of green
Green (sRGB)
The color defined as green in the sRGB color space is approximately the most chromatic green that can be reproduced on an average computer screen, and is the color named green in X11. It is one of the three primary colors used in the sRGB color space along with red and blue. The three additive primaries in the RGB color system are the three colors of light chosen such as to provide the maximum range of colors that are capable of being represented on a computer or television set.
This color is also called regular green. It is at precisely 120 degrees on the HSV color wheel. Its complementary color is magenta.
HTML/CSS uses the name lime for this color, using green to refer to a darker shade. See the chart Color names that clash between X11 and HTML/CSS in the X11 color names article to see those colors which are different in HTML and X11.
Green (HTML/CSS color) (Office Green)
The color defined as green in HTML/CSS color standard is the color called green, low green, or medium green in many of the older eight-bit computer palettes.
Another name for this color is green W3C or office green.
Green (CMYK) (pigment green)
The color defined as green in the CMYK color system used in printing, also known as pigment green, is the tone of green that is achieved by mixing process (printer's) cyan and process (printer's) yellow in equal proportions.
The purpose of the CMYK color system is to provide the maximum possible gamut of color reproducible in printing.
The color indicated is only approximate as the colors of printing inks may vary. The color displayed is an approximation of the CMYK color on an RGB screen, and cannot replicate the color accurately.
Green (NCS) (psychological primary green)
The color defined as green in the NCS or Natural Color System is NCS 2060-G. The natural color system is a color system based on the four unique hues or psychological primary colors red, yellow, green, and blue. The NCS is based on the opponent process theory of vision. The Natural Color System is widely used in Scandinavia.
Green (Munsell)
The Munsell color system is a color space that specifies colors based on three color dimensions: hue, value (lightness), and chroma (colorfulness), spaced uniformly (in terms of human perception) in three dimensions in the Munsell color solid. In order for all the colors to be spaced uniformly, it was found necessary to use a color wheel with five, non-arbitrary, equally spaced primary colors: red, yellow, green, blue, and purple.
The color of the sample is the most chromatic (colorful) green in the sRGB gamut that falls in the hue of 5G (primary green) in the Munsell color space. Munsell identified green as the "color of ordinary foliage" with a wavelength between 0.511 and 0.543 micron.
Green (Pantone)
Green (Pantone) is the color that is called green in Pantone.
The source of this color is the "Pantone Textile Paper eXtended (TPX)" color list, color # green C, EC, HC, PC, U, or UP—green.
Green (Crayola)
Green (Crayola) is the color called green in Crayola crayons.
Green was one of the original Crayola crayons introduced in 1903.
Additional computer web greens
Bright green
Bright green is a vivid yellowish-green colour.
Dark green (X11)
This is the X11/HTML color dark green.
Erin
The first recorded use of erin as a color name was in 1922.
Harlequin
Harlequin is a color described as being located between green and yellow (closer to green than to yellow) on the color wheel. On color plate 17 in the 1930 book A Dictionary of Color (see reference below), the color harlequin is shown as being a highly saturated rich color at a position halfway between chartreuse and green. Thus in modern color terminology, harlequin is the color halfway between green and chartreuse green on the RGB color wheel.
The first recorded use of harlequin as a color name in English was in 1923.
Harlequin is a pure spectral color at approximately 552 nanometers on the visible spectrum when plotted on the CIE chromaticity diagram.
Silver Patron tequila is sold in harlequin-colored boxes.
Harlequin is also an adjective used to describe something that is colored in a pattern, usually a diamond-shaped pattern, as in the dress traditionally associated with harlequins. Similarly, it can mean anything multicolored or prismatic, such as opals or other precious gems which are highly variegated in color and hue. In the early 2000s, a harlequin color paint was invented for automobiles that appears different colors from different angles of view.
Light green
Light green is a light tint of green.
Lime green (X11)
Lime green is a vivid, yellowish shade of green named after the lime fruit.
Neon green
Neon green is a bright tone of green used in psychedelic art and in fashion. Neon green became a signature of English singer/songwriter Charli XCX with the release of her 2024 album Brat. The neon green used is Pantone3507.
Pale green
This is the X11/HTML color pale green.
Green in biological nature
Green is common in nature, especially in plants. Many plants are green mainly because of a complex chemical known as chlorophyll which is involved in photosynthesis.The New Encyclopædia Britannica. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2002. Many shades of green have been named after plants or are related to plants. Due to varying ratios of chlorophylls (and different amounts as well as other plant pigments being present), the plant kingdom exhibits many shades of green in both hue (true color) and value (lightness/darkness). The chlorophylls in living plants have distinctive green colors, while dried or cooked portions of plants are different shades of green due to the chlorophyll molecules losing their inner magnesium ion.
Acid green
Acid green is a shade of yellow-green. Sources differ as to the exact color, but those shown here are representative.
Apple green
Apple green is a representation of the color of the outer skin of a Granny Smith apple. A darker version of this color has been used for the IRT Lexington Avenue Line since June 1979, when the NYCTA decided to assign line colors to all the routes within the major trunk lines in the Central Business District, plus different colors for services not entering Manhattan. By doing this, they scrapped the 1967 colors that were assigned separately to each service, it was also used on locomotives of the London & North Eastern Railway.
The first recorded use of apple green as a color name in English was in 1648.Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill p. 189; Color Sample of Apple Green: p. 61 Plate 19 Color Sample J6
Artichoke green (Pantone)
This is the color called artichoke green in Pantone. The source is Pantone 18-0125 TPX.
Evergreen
Evergreen is a color that resembles evergreens.
It is currently unknown when evergreen was first used as a color name.
Fern green
Fern green is a color that resembles ferns. A Crayola crayon named fern was created in 1998.
The first recorded use of fern green as a color name in English was in 1902.Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 195; color sample of Fern Green: Page 65 Plate 21 Color Sample F5
Forest green
Forest green refers to a green color said to resemble the color of the trees and other plants in a forest.
The first recorded use of forest green as the name of a color in the English language was in 1810.Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 195; color sample of Jungle Green: Page 69 Plate 23 Color Sample L6
Honeydew
The color honeydew is a pale, greenish off-white based on the color of the interior flesh of a honeydew melon.
Jungle green
In 1990, Crayola named and formulated a specific tone called jungle green.
The first recorded use of jungle green as a name of a color in the English language was in 1926.Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 201; color sample of Jungle Green: Page 87 Plate 32 Color Sample L12 Note: The Color Sample shown as Jungle Green in Maerz and Paul is the color shown in the article on "jungle green" as dark jungle green.
Kelly green
Kelly green is an intense, pure green named after the common Irish family name, Kelly. It evokes the lush green Irish meadows and is also commonly associated with St. Patrick's Day.
Kombu green
The color kombu green is a representation of the color of kombu, edible kelp from the family Laminariaceae widely eaten in East Asia.
The source of this color is the "Pantone Textile Paper eXtended (TPX)" color list, color #19-0417 TPX—Kombu Green.
Laurel green
Laurel green is a medium light hue of chartreuish gray similar to asparagus, but lighter.
The first recorded use of laurel green as a name of a color in the English language was in 1705.Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 197; color sample of Laurel Green: Page 67 Plate 22 Color Sample L1. The color displayed in the color box above as "laurel green" matches the color shown in the color sample in Maerz and Paul
Mantis
Mantis green represents the green color of certain grass-dwelling species of praying mantis.
The first use of mantis as a color name in English was when it was included as one of the colors on the Xona.com color list, promulgated in 2001.
Moss green
Moss is a tone of green that resembles green moss.
The first recorded use of moss green as a color name in English was in 1884.Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill p. 199; Color Sample of Moss Green: p. 65 Plate 21 Color Sample L2
Mint green
Mint green is a pale tint of green that resembles the color of mint green pigment, and was a popular color in the 1990s.
Myrtle
Myrtle is a dark green shade that resembles the color of Myrtus leaves.
Olive
Olive, also called olive green, is a dark yellowish-green color, like that of unripe or green olives.
As a color word in the English language, it appears in late Middle English. Shaded toward brown, it becomes olive drab.
Pine green
Pine green is a rich dark shade of cyan that resembles the color of pine trees. It is an official Crayola color that is this exact shade in the Crayola crayon, but in the markers, it is known as crocodile green.
The color pine green is a representation of the average color of the leaves of the trees of a coniferous forest. The color pine green was originally known as pine tree. The first recorded use of pine tree as a color name in English was in 1923.Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 190; Color Sample of Pine Tree: Page 85 Plate 31 Color Sample L6Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 190; Color Sample of Pine Tree: Page 85 Plate 31 Color Sample L6
Reseda green
Reseda green, is a shade of greyish green in the classic range of colors of the German RAL colour standard, in which it is named "RAL 6011".Overview of all RAL Classic colours. RAL gemeinnützige GmbH. Retrieved January 2016.
The name derives from the color of the leaves of Reseda odorata, commonly known as mignonette.Nikolas Davies, Erkki Jokiniemi (2008). Dictionary of Architecture and Building Construction. Amsterdam; Boston; London: Elsevier/Architectural Press. .
Sap green