Punchy Kimono Goldenrod

A modern adjectival form of punch, to strike sharply. Used as a color word since the early twentieth century for hues that read as highly contrasting and visually loud. Punchy red, punchy yellow: the implication is full saturation combined with optical impact. Sits across the bold and bright buckets, near vivid and striking.

Japanese kimono, thing-to-wear. As a color modifier, kimono implies a Japanese-kimono-and-furisode-and-tomesode quality, the visual register of Edo-and-Heian-kimono-and-furisode hand-Japanese-kimono-and-furisode-and-tomesode Edo-and-Heian-kimono-and-furisode-and-Kyoto-Nishijin kimono-and-Japanese-kimono-and-furisode surfaces under Edo-and-Heian-kimono-and-furisode-and-Kyoto-Nishijin Heian-Kyoto-and-Edo-Tokugawa Japanese-court-light. Sits at the modifier-and-textile end of the grid, parallel to haori and sari 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.