Green has one of the most eventful pigment histories of any colour family — a genuinely stable, vivid green pigment was elusive for centuries, and one of the solutions that finally worked turned out to be poisonous.
No single HEX value defines this entire colour family — see individual colour profiles below for specific shades.
A genuinely stable, vivid green pigment was historically difficult to produce, which is why green was comparatively rare and expensive in painting for long periods before the 18th and 19th centuries.
before the 18th and 19th centuries
Scheele's Green and Paris Green, 18th- and 19th-century arsenic-based pigments, finally offered a vivid, stable green — but were later found responsible for documented cases of arsenic poisoning through wallpaper, clothing and paint.
18th–19th century
Green has long been associated with growth, nature and, in Western tradition, with Ireland and Irish identity specifically — distinct, region-specific associations rather than one universal meaning.
Irish
Modern 'green' branding for environmental and sustainability messaging is a 20th-century development, building on the colour's long-standing association with nature and growth.
20th century onward