What Color IS Green?

As I look at the leafing trees on the Ozark Mountains, I'm struck by the question, "What color is green?" The slopes sport a full range of hues, from the palest, softest greens to the deepest, most vibrant ones.

A major challenge of descriptive writing is selecting the precise adjective to use. It needs to show the reader what's in the writer's mind. If I write "green," each reader will see what the color green looks like to her. But if I write "lime green," most readers will see green that is the color of a lime.

For a general audience, I like to choose words that most readers will identify with. For example: celery green, emerald green, forest green, iridescent green and so on.

Despite the wide selection of words available, when I look at all the beautiful shades of green as spring unfolds in the Ozarks, I'm at a loss for adequate descriptive adjectives. What color IS green?