virescence

American  

[vahy-res-uhns, vi-] / vaɪˈrɛs əns, vɪ- /

noun

Botany.

1. state of becoming somewhat, though usually not totally, green, due to the abnormal presence of chlorophyll.

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virescence British  

/ vɪˈrɛsəns /

noun

1. (in plants) the process of becoming green, esp by the action of disease, etc, in parts not normally green

2. the condition of being or the process of becoming green

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Etymology

Origin of virescence

First recorded in 1885–90; viresc(ent) + -ence

Example Sentences

Or this manifesto of aesthetic self-identification: “I’m a son of the north: my hues are the hammered gold of autumn, the silver-grey of the undersides of leaves in rainy springtime, the khaki shine of chilly summer beaches and the winter sea’s rough purples, its acid virescence.”

From Washington Post

Virescence, the state or condition of becoming green, is one of many words in this novel that sent me to the dictionary.

From Washington Post

Many of the cases recorded as reversions of the parts of the flower to leaves are simply instances of virescence; indeed, it is not in all cases easy to distinguish between the two states.

From Project Gutenberg

Some flowers are more liable to virescence than others.

From Project Gutenberg

The common honeysuckle, Lonicera Periclymenum, is one of these, and it is noticeable in this plant that the calyx remains unaffected—a circumstance which Morren says shows the distinctness of virescence from frondescence; for, in this instance, we have the most foliaceous portion of the flower remaining unchanged, while the corolla and other organs, usually less leaf-like in their nature, assume a green colour; but this may rather be attributed to the axial nature of the so-called adherent calyx.

From Project Gutenberg