Spring green
Spring green is a vivid, cyan-tinged shade of green defined in the sRGB color space by the hexadecimal code #00FF7F and RGB values (0, 255, 127).[1][2] Positioned precisely halfway between green (#00FF00) and cyan (#00FFFF) on the RGB color wheel, it exhibits high saturation and brightness, with 100% green component and approximately 50% blue.[3] In the CMYK model, it corresponds to (100, 0, 50, 0), making it suitable for digital displays emphasizing vibrancy over print reproduction.[2] This hue symbolizes renewal, growth, and the freshness of emerging spring foliage, though its perceptual appearance varies under different lighting conditions due to human color vision physiology.[4] The name has historical roots in English color nomenclature from the late 18th century, predating standardized digital definitions but aligning with descriptive terms for lively greens in natural and artistic contexts.[4]
Definition and Physical Properties
Color Specifications
Spring green is defined in the sRGB color space, the standard for web and digital displays established by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) in 1999, with RGB values of (0, 255, 127), corresponding to 0% red, 100% green, and approximately 50% blue intensity.[2] This yields a hexadecimal code of #00FF7F, where the absence of red component emphasizes the green-cyan balance derived from additive light mixing principles in RGB systems.[5] In CMYK for subtractive printing, it approximates 100% cyan, 0% magenta, 50% yellow, and 0% black.[2] On the RGB color wheel, spring green occupies a hue angle of 150°, precisely midway between pure green at 120° and cyan at 180°, reflecting its tertiary position in additive color theory.[2] This positioning arises from equal contributions of green and blue primaries adjusted to maximize saturation at full lightness, as per sRGB specifications for vivid display rendering.[6]| Shade | HEX | RGB | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring green | #00FF7F | (0, 255, 127) | Standard web variant, highly saturated.[2] |
| Medium spring green | #00FA9A | (0, 250, 154) | Slightly brighter with increased blue for a more cyan tilt.[7] |
| Dark spring green | #177245 | (23, 114, 69) | Desaturated, lower lightness variant evoking deeper foliage tones.[8] |
Spectral and Perceptual Characteristics
Spring green corresponds to a dominant wavelength of approximately 530 nm in the visible spectrum, evoking perception through strong stimulation of medium-wavelength-sensitive (M) cones in the human retina, augmented by long-wavelength-sensitive (L) cone activity, with limited short-wavelength-sensitive (S) cone response.[9] This spectral composition aligns with the color's high saturation in CIE 1931 chromaticity coordinates (x ≈ 0.274, y ≈ 0.505), positioning it distant from the illuminant white point (e.g., D65 at x = 0.3127, y = 0.3290) and yielding a purity exceeding 90% relative to spectral loci.[10] The perceptual vibrancy stems from a relative luminance (Y) of about 73%, calculated from sRGB linear values as Y = 0.2126R + 0.7152G + 0.0722B, where the dominant green channel (G = 1.0 normalized) drives excitatory responses in opponent color channels, particularly green-red, while the moderate blue component (B ≈ 0.22 linear) introduces a subtle cyan shift balanced by the blue-yellow mechanism.[11] This high luminance-to-saturation ratio contributes to its fresh appearance, as brighter, saturated greens elicit heightened arousal in visual processing without overwhelming desaturation.[12] Perception varies with illuminants due to metamerism, where spring green's reflectance or emission spectrum matches under one light source (e.g., sunlight's broad continuum) but shifts hue toward yellow or cyan under narrow-band LEDs lacking balanced green wavelengths, altering cone ratios.[13] In RGB models, the imbalance (R=0, G=255, B=127) amplifies M-cone overactivation, potentially leading to perceived garishness in prolonged exposure from saturation-induced overstimulation, though empirical thresholds depend on individual adaptation.[12] Color vision deficiencies like deuteranomaly reduce discrimination, compressing the green locus and rendering it less saturated relative to normal trichromacy.[14]Historical Origins
Etymology and Early Documentation
The English compound "spring green" emerged in the mid-18th century to designate a pale or light green hue, derived from direct observation of tender, nascent foliage during the vernal season, distinguishing it empirically from the deeper tones of mature or evergreen vegetation. The Oxford English Dictionary records the earliest known usage in 1735, within Dictionarium Polygraphicum, a technical compendium on arts including pigments and colors, where it denotes a bright, yellowish variant lighter than standard forest greens.[15] This initial application aligns with practical contexts such as painting and dyeing, rather than poetic or symbolic abstraction. By 1766, the term specifically evoked a yet lighter, bud-like shade—approximating the modern HEX #A7F432 now termed spring bud—reflecting finer gradations in seasonal leaf emergence as documented in period color nomenclature.[16] Pre-20th-century botanical descriptions, such as those cataloging plant phenology, employed "spring green" to characterize the vivid tint of early deciduous shoots, emphasizing measurable contrasts in chlorophyll development against winter dormancy.[17] Dye recipes from the era, aiming for brighter greens via combinations like weld yellow over woad blue, occasionally referenced analogous "spring" tones to achieve hues evoking fresh growth, though without uniform standardization.[18] No evidence exists of equivalent terminology in ancient non-European linguistic traditions, as the phrase is intrinsically tied to English seasonal descriptors and lacks parallels in classical Greek, Latin, or pre-modern Asian color lexicons focused on broader verdant categories.[15] This absence underscores the term's origins in post-medieval European empirical botany and artisanal practice, unlinked to cross-cultural mythic or ritualistic greens.Evolution in Pigments and Dyes
Traditional approximations of spring green hues involved blending yellow ochre with verdigris (basic copper acetate), a practice dating to ancient Greece, though verdigris darkened to brown upon light exposure, compromising vibrancy and permanence.[19] Malachite, ground from copper carbonate ore and used since Egyptian times around 3000 BCE, offered a brighter turquoise-leaning green but suffered from opacity and gradual darkening in binders like oil.[20] Sap green, derived from buckthorn berries (Rhamnus cathartica) since the medieval period, produced a yellowish-green tone evoking foliage but yielded muted results requiring yellow additives for brightness; its organic chlorophyll base rendered it highly fugitive, fading rapidly under sunlight.[21] The 18th and 19th centuries introduced synthetic copper-based greens for more vivid approximations. Scheele's green, invented in 1775 by Carl Wilhelm Scheele as copper(II) arsenite, provided unprecedented brightness but released toxic arsenic vapors, especially in humid conditions, leading to documented poisonings.[22] Schweinfurt or Paris green (copper acetoarsenite), commercialized in 1814, achieved even more intense emerald tones suitable for spring-like vibrancy and was widely adopted in paints and wallpapers, yet it exhibited partial fading in light and severe toxicity, with arsenic content causing over 500 reported deaths from contaminated wallpapers by the mid-19th century.[23][24] Viridian (hydrated chromium(III) oxide), developed in the 1830s and refined by 1862, marked progress toward stability with cooler, transparent greens less prone to fading than arsenic variants, though its production involved hazardous chromate processes.[25] Industrial advancements in the late 19th century enabled consistent shades via chrome greens (mixtures of Prussian blue and chrome yellow), reducing variability but retaining some light sensitivity in early formulations.[26] Post-1900 synthetics resolved prior limitations. Phthalocyanine green (Pigment Green 7), commercialized around 1935 from copper phthalocyanine derivatives, delivers brilliant, lightfast yellow-greens with high tinting strength and minimal toxicity, enabling durable spring green reproductions in modern paints absent the instability or hazards of predecessors.[27] These formulations contrast sharply with 19th-century dyes, offering chemical inertness that withstands decades of exposure without degradation.[25]Representations in Color Systems
Digital and Web Standards
Spring green is codified in web standards as the named color "springgreen" with hexadecimal value #00FF7F, equivalent to RGB(0, 255, 127) in the additive RGB color model used for digital displays.[2] This specification positions it midway between pure green (#00FF00) and cyan (#00FFFF) on the RGB color wheel, achieving vividness through maximum intensity in the green channel (255) while incorporating half-intensity blue (127) for a yellowish tint.[1] The color was included among the extended set of 140 named colors in CSS Level 1 (1996) and subsequent standards, enabling consistent rendering across browsers and devices supporting sRGB. A related variant, mediumspringgreen (#00FA9A or RGB(0, 250, 154)), offers slightly desaturated rendering for user interfaces, reducing blue contribution for subtler vibrancy in web design.[7] Both colors integrate seamlessly with CSS properties likecolor and background-color, as well as SVG elements, ensuring reproducibility in vector graphics and scalable web content without loss of fidelity on compliant displays.
In additive RGB systems, spring green's high saturation leverages phosphor or LED emission peaks in the green spectrum for perceptual brightness, contrasting with subtractive CMYK models in print where equivalent greens require cyan and yellow inks, often yielding muddier results due to ink absorption.[28] While generally restful to the eye owing to green's central position in the visible spectrum, prolonged exposure to oversaturated digital greens can contribute to visual fatigue, as high luminance and contrast exceed optimal ergonomic thresholds in display calibration research.[29][30]