Lurid Shade Goldenrod

Latin lūridus, pale-yellow / sickly — sharing root with lūror (yellowish-pallor). As a color modifier, lurid implies a saturated-and-shocking-and-sickly-bright quality, the bright color of Penny-Dreadful-and-Pulp-Fiction sensational-cover-art bright-and-pulpy printing. Sits at the bright-and-shocking end of the grid, parallel to garish and gaudy in usage.

Old English sceadu, shadow-or-shelter. As a color modifier, shade implies a sheltered-and-cool-and-shadowed quality, the visual register of Tuscan-cypress-and-Provençal-plane-tree-shade hand-sheltered-and-cool-and-shadowed Tuscan-cypress-and-Provençal-plane-tree-and-English-yew shaded-and-sheltered-and-cool surfaces under Tuscan-cypress-and-Provençal-plane-tree-and-English-yew dappled-and-cool-and-filtered afternoon-light. Sits at the modifier-and-mood end of the grid, parallel to shadow and gloam 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.