Glaucous

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Glaucous (from the Latin glaucous, meaning "bluish-grey or green", from the Greek glaukos) is a botanical term (adjective) used to describe the pale grey or bluish-green appearance of the surfaces of some plants.

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

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.

References

• http://www.thefreedictionary.com/glaucous
• http://wordsmith.org/words/glaucous.html

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Last updated on Saturday November 03, 2007 at 15:49:13 PDT (GMT -0700)
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