Heliotrope (color) explained

Heliotrope is a pink-purple tint that is a representation of the colour of the heliotrope flower.

The first recorded use of heliotrope as a color name in English was in 1882.^[2]

Variations

The color heliotrope gray is displayed at right. The first recorded use of heliotrope gray as a colour name in English was in 1912.^[4]

At right is displayed the colour old heliotrope.

Another name for this colour is old helio.

The first recorded use of old helio as a colour name in English was in 1926.^[5]

The color has been widely referenced as a characterization, the colour of key plot objects, or as flavor text in many works:
- Heliotrope was a popular colour reference of Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, script writers of Hancock's Half Hour.
- In James Joyce's Finnegans Wake, "heliotrope" is the answer to the Maggies' riddle. Throughout the chapter, the word "heliotrope" is disguised a number of times, hidden either in anagrams, riddles, puns, or obscure allusions.
- In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the Polyjuice Potion brewed in order to disguise Hermione Granger as Mafalda Hopkirk is described as having a "pleasant heliotrope colour."
The periorbital purplish discoloration occurring in dermatomyositis is called the "Heliotrope rash" after the colour.
Heliotrope was among the handful of "half-mourning" colours worn by Victorians during the last stage of mourning.^[6]
"Heliotrope" is the title of the fourth track on At the Drive-In's 1999 EP Vaya.
Heliotrope was referenced as a health status condition of the service droid Kryten in the Red Dwarf Series V episode Terrorform.
"Heliotrope Bouquet" is a slow drag two step by Scott Joplin (with contributions from Louis Chauvin) composed in 1907.
In the TV series Yellowjackets, the members of the new religious movement surrounding Lottie Matthews wear heliotrope robes; as she says, "We make the dye ourselves from the flowers used to treat wounds."^[7] ^[8] ^[9]

The color displayed in the color box above matches the color called heliotrope in the 1930 book by Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill; the colour heliotrope is displayed on page 131, Plate 54, Color Sample C10.
Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Colour, New York: 1930 McGraw-Hill Page 196; Color Sample of Heliotrope: Page 131 Plate 54 Colour Sample C10
Of the various tones of Heliotrope Gray shown on the indicated web page of the ISCC-NBS colour list, the color displayed in the colour box above, colour sample #227, matches most closely the colour called Heliotrope Gray in the 1930 book by Maerz and Paul, A Dictionary of Colour, New York: 1930 McGraw-Hill; the colour Heliotrope Gray is displayed on page 111, Plate 44, Color Sample C3.
Maerz and Paul, A Dictionary of Colour, New York: 1930 McGraw-Hill, Page 196; Colour Sample of Heliotrope Gray: Page 111, Plate 44, Colour Sample C3
Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York: 1930 McGraw-Hill Page 200; Color Sample of Old Helio: Page 113 Plate 45 Color Sample J9
Web site: Edwardian Mourning Dress. July 24, 2018.
Web site: The Biggest Costume Easter Eggs in 'Yellowjackets' Season Two (So Far). Fawnia Soo. Hoo. April 14, 2023. Fashionista.
Web site: 'Yellowjackets': Simone Kessell on How Lottie's Caftans Reveal Her Character's Unraveling. Jazz. Tangcay. May 20, 2023.
Web site: 'Yellowjackets' Season 2: What's the deal with Lottie's cult?. April 24, 2023. Mashable.