Lustrous Charm Goldenrod

From the Latin lustrare, to illuminate — used as a color word since the seventeenth century for hues with the slight specular shine of polished metal or silk. Lustrous green, lustrous gold: the implication is moderate-to-high saturation combined with surface reflectivity. Sits at the bright-and-glossy corner alongside gleaming.

Latin carmen, song-or-spell. As a color modifier, charm implies a beguiling-and-enchanted-and-disarming quality, the visual register of Provençal-troubadour-and-Renaissance-courtly-charm hand-beguiling-and-enchanted-and-disarming Provençal-troubadour-and-Renaissance-courtly-and-Belle-Époque-salon charmed-and-beguiling-and-enchanted-and-disarming surfaces under Provençal-troubadour-and-Renaissance-courtly-and-Belle-Époque-salon candlelit-and-rose-scented-and-disarming drawing-room-light. Sits at the modifier-and-mood end of the grid, parallel to grace and blithe in usage.

Solidago, the late-summer wildflower of North American meadows whose tall sprays of small yellow flowers signal the end of the growing season. The color refers to the flower head at full bloom: a warm, slightly muted yellow-orange with the matte finish of small clustered florets. Cooler than mustard, deeper than dandelion. The state flower of Kentucky and Nebraska, a pollinator magnet, and the original native dye for early American homespun.