The first recorded use of heliotrope as a color name in English was in 1882.
Heliotrope gray
The color heliotrope gray is displayed at right. The first recorded use of heliotrope gray as a color name in English was in 1912.
The source of this color is: ISCC-NBS Dictionary of Color Names (1955)--Color Sample of Heliotrope Gray (color sample #227)
Old heliotrope
At right is displayed the color old heliotrope.
Another name for this color is old helio.
The first recorded use of old helio as a color name in English was in 1926.
Heliotrope in culture
In the film La Furia del Hombre Lobo (Fury of the Wolfman) starring Paul Naschy, the narration before the opening credits states, "When the heliotrope starts growing among rough rocks, and, the full moon shines at night..."
In his essay "White Mythology," Jacques Derrida refers to the persistent metaphors of the Sun and Light in Western philosophy as the heliotrope.
Heliotrope is used as the color for the academic hood of the Business Faculty of RMIT University in Australia.
In Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, Book Eight, Helene, the Countess Bezukhova, visits the Rostov family in Moscow wearing "a gown in heliotrope with a high collar."
In Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband, Act I, the play notes state that Mrs. Cheveley enters the Chilterns' party wearing "heliotrope, with diamonds".
In James Joyce's Finnegans Wake, "heliotrope" is the answer to the Maggies' riddle in the game of Colours (or Angels and Devils) played by the children in Part II, Chapter 1. Throughout the chapter, the word "heliotrope" is disguised a number of times, hidden either in anagrams, riddles, puns, or obscure allusions.
In James Joyce's "The Dead (short story)" contained in his collection Dubliners, Gabriel Conroy is told to be caressing a "heliotrope envelope [...] lying beside his breakfast-cup."
In P. G. Wodehouse’s Thank You Jeeves, Pauline Stoker escapes from her father's yacht and ends up in Bertie Wooster's heliotrope pajamas.
In Sarah Mlynowski's Parties & Potions, the Samsortas wear a gown that is heliotrope in color, as the color has "magical properties that enhance natural beauty".
In Danielewski's House of Leaves, Pelafina lists heliotrope as a preferred color for her luggage.
In Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow, the colored pencils on Tyrone Slothrop's desk include the "Hard-to-get heliotrope".
The periorbital purplish discoloration occurring in dermatomyositis is called the "Heliotrope rash" after the color.
Heliotrope is among the handful of "half-mourning" colors worn by Victorians during the last stage of mourning.
One of the most famous ragtime piano melodies is "Heliotrope Bouquet", composed in 1907 by Louis Chauvin (the first two strains) and Scott Joplin (the last two strains).
State University of New York at Purchase formerly had heliotrope as one of the college's colors.
The University of Arkansas used heliotrope as one of the school colors in the early 20th century.
Heliotrope was a popular color reference of Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, script writers of Hancock's Half Hour.
In the British sci-fi series Doctor Who, heliotrope was the color of the robes worn by the Patrexes on the planet Gallifrey.
Heliotrope is one of the colors in the Venus Paradise set of colored pencils, a popular brand of colored pencils widely sold during the 1950s.
In the Pixar short film, Boundin', the jackalope uses heliotrope as a color.
Exmouth RFC (N2) play in shirts with a heliotrope and white horizontal strip. The Exmouth RFC bar serves a cocktail named Heliotrope.
In Eric Thompson's Dougal and the blue cat, Buxton the cat prepares to do away with all other colors ...."like heliotrope".
In D.H. Lawrence's Sons and Lovers, Paul and Mrs Morel have a discussion about the new blouse she is wearing, described as "white, with a little sprig of heliotrope and black."
In the British TV series The Jewel in the Crown (1984) Barbara Batchelor, thinking of what to she might wear to a social function, mentions to Mabel Layton that she has seen "some heliotrope stuff in the Bazzar, if only we could get down into Ranpur for some shopping."
Jason Morrall's upcoming book is named "Tajne heliotropa" ("Secrets of the heliotrope").
Heliotrope is the title of the fourth track on At the Drive-In's 1999 EP Vaya.
