One of the most universal color associations, green is often used to indicate that something comes directly from nature, is heavily associated with nature, or should be understood as being "natural" as opposed to artificial. This association comes from the fact many plants found in nature are some shade of green due to the presence of chlorophyll in their cells that allows them to photosynthesize combined with the stereotype that Nature Equals Plants.
Characters that are In Harmony with Nature or closely associated with it, like a Nature Spirit, elves, the Nature Hero, a Nature Lover, a Friend to All Living Things, a Nature-Loving Robot, Mother Nature, and some versions of the Hermit Guru, will often be depicted wearing green, having green physical traits, or having a name related to the color green. Superpowered individuals with plant or nature-based abilities tend to get a similar treatment. Beings that are also plants like Plant Person, Planimals, Innocent Plant Children, and those who've undergone Transflormation are typically colored green, though this will more often vary depending on the type of plants they're meant to represent and their physical/emotional/mental well-being—healthy plant beings will be vibrant green, unwell ones brown or grey, like wilting plants. For such beings to fall under this trope green has to be a major part of their appearance.
While this trope is often used for characterization purposes, it can be used to code all sorts of things as natural. For example, medicines that are considered "natural" like herbal remedies, tinctures, and homeopathic treatments will often be sold with green packaging or text to play up this association. This also helps to contrast such items from medicines made from more technology-heavy processes, like pharmaceuticals, which are often color-coded white or blue. Natural remedies being green may also explain why Healing Hands is often depicted as Emerald Power: healing magic is treated in-universe as being "more natural" than other types of magic.
Even things that are considered gross or toxic may be specifically colored green if their origins are "natural" (coming from a living organism or the human body for the former and plant-derived for the latter). In advertising, this is exploited via "greenwashing", which refers to marketing products with words like "all-natural," "eco-friendly," and/or "bio-degradable," to appeal to environmentally conscious consumers, often times regardless of whether or not the product is actually good for the environment.
Super-Trope to Yellow Earth, Green Earth. Contrast White and Red and Eerie All Over for a color combination that is decidedly not natural. Frequently shows up in Color-Coded Elements for nature powers and may overlap with Flowers of Nature. See also Wind Is Green for a specific natural element that is often colored green.
Examples:
- The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You: Yasashiki Yamamame is a kind, Friend to All Living Things and Nature Lover. Naturally, she has green hair and green eyes.
- Fairy Tail: Warrod Sequen is a powerful wizard whose magic is called "Green Magic" and allows him to control and manipulate plants to such extent he can grow colossal trees in an instant and, as a hobby, strives to turn desertic wastelands into fertile grassland. Because of his magic, he's even tree-like himself.
- Sailor Moon: In the original manga, Sailor Jupiter, who is color-coded green in every iteration she shows up in, has much more plant and flower iconography. This is noticeable from two of her attacks, Flower Hurricane and Jupiter Oak Evolution, the former which creates a flurry of rose petals around an enemy and the latter that combines her electric and plant powers into a single ability. This would be downplayed in later adaptations to play up the association between Sailor Jupiter and Jupiter, the Roman God of Thunder.
- Sonic X: Cosmo is a green plant-like alien who can unlock the power of Planet Eggs to summon vines, and she is capable of empathizing with plants.
- Toriko, Teppei is always dressed in green and his job as a Saiseiya is to preserve nature, revive lost food and animals, and protect endangered animals. He even gets Green Thumb powers over brambles and wood.
- Noonbory and the Super 7: Rosygury wears a green, leaf-like cape, and true to her name, she is very protective of her garden and she can even grow vines at will.
- The DCU: The Green is a Sentient Cosmic Force that animates plant life in the universe. Plant-aligned characters with Green Thumb powers like Poison Ivy and Swamp Thing are empowered by it.
- Swamp Thing is the Green's primary champion. He is a humanoid covered in swamp/plant life who is primarily concerned with the environment and the Green's stability, and is thus usually depicted as greenish in addition to his ability to control plant life.
- Batman: The chlorokinetic villainess Poison Ivy has green eyes, generally wears green, and sometimes has green skin.
- A Troll in Central Park: Stanley the troll wears a green vest and his thumb is actually green. He can grow plants at will and bring them to life.
- Mavka: The Forest Song: Mavka is a nymph and the soul of the forest, and her hair and the runes on her body are green.
- Moana: Te Fiti is the goddess of life who created many islands full of plants, animals, and humans. She can also make flowers appear with her own hands. Her entire body (save for some pink and red flowers in her hair) is green and resembles a topiary hedge formed in the shape of a woman.
- My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Legend of Everfree: The titular Gaea Everfree wears a green dress and stockings, and she has the ability to control plant life around Camp Everfree. She can even cover the entire place with vines.
- Wizards: Montagar is home to the good wizard Avatar. It's a lush and idyllic place full of greenery. The Westland fairies reside to the south of Montagar, and they have almost no constructs, abiding in a green pastoral paradise. The elves of the east live in a forest, but it's less green and more gaunt. Contrast these with Scortch, the wasteland where evil wizard Blackwolf amasses his armies. Scortch has only four colors: black, grey, sepia, and crimson.
- The Silmarillion: Yavanna, the Vala who created and oversees the plants and animals of the world, has a prominent green color motif. She usually manifests as a tall woman in green robes, or else as a tree with emerald leaves.
- Power Rangers:
- Power Rangers Mystic Force: The Green Ranger holds power over nature and earth.
- Power Rangers Samurai: Mike is the Green Ranger and holds power over the Wood element.
- Super Sentai:
- Mahou Sentai Magiranger: The Green Ranger holds power over nature and earth.
- Samurai Sentai Shinkenger: Chiaki is the Green Ranger and holds power over the Wood element.
- Morris, the green Keeper from Through the Dragon's Eye has numerous pets, and his knowledge of butterflies saves him, Doris and Jenny a significant amount of time in fixing the Veetacore because, like a butterfly, it is the same on both sides.
- Magic: The Gathering: Green Mana is tied to nature. It is drawn from the power of forests, it is the colour with the most efficient creatures, and it's hostile to artifacts and enchantments because they're seen as unnatural. Philosophically, it values letting nature take its course, survival of the fittest, and instinct.
- Res Arcana: Among the colour-coded essences, Life is the green-coded one. It's associated with cards related to animals and nature, such as the Druid, Beastmaster, Tree of Life, Sacred Grove, Mystical Menagerie, and many creature cards.
- Warhammer Fantasy: Of the eight Winds of Magic, the Jade Wind governs plants, nourishment, and fertility in the natural world, and is studied by Druids as the Lore of Life. In contrast, the Black Magic of Chaos is associated with a Sickly Green Glow.
- Chrono Cross: The Green element covers nature-based attacks, in addition to wind-based attacks. Said element is also associated with the Poison status effect.
- Dawncaster: Bolgar Blightbane is the necromancer and enchanter boss of the third dungeon in the game, which fittingly takes place in The Lost Woods filled with Warrior Undead enemies. He's depicted as a Barefoot Sage with glowing green eyes, emitting a Sickly Green Glow and levitating mushrooms. He fights primarily by inflicting you with poison.
- Flight Rising: The Gladekeeper is the Nature Flight, i.e. the god of nature. She's a Planimal, covered in leafy foliage, her eyes are green, and she has control over plants.
- Genshin Impact: Green is the color associated with the Dendro element; more specifically, a deep, leafy green, in contrast to the minty green of Anemo.
- Hades: Artemis, goddess of the hunt and the wilderness, is depicted wearing all green. Her boons are also colored green both in the selection menu and are colored green when used by Zagreus.
- I Was a Teenage Exocolonist: Cal's hair and outfits are mostly green, and he works as a gardener and rancher at Geoponics.
- The Legend of Zelda: Characters and factions associated with plant life, nature, and forests typically use green as a prominent color motif. The goddess Farore is usually solid green in her depictions, for instance, while the Kokiri forest-children wear leaf-green clothing.
- Pokémon: The Grass type indicator is a green icon, many Grass attacks are colored green, and a lot of Pokemon of this type are green too. Looking at just the starter Grass-type Pokemon: Bulbasaur, Chikorita, Treecko, Turtwig, Snivy, Chespin, Rowlet, Grookey, and Sprigatito are all either completely green or have green features and accents.
- RuneScape: Guthix, the God of Balance, looks after the natural world, sponsors an order of Druids, and uses green prominently in his iconography. He also manifests as an all-green humanoid in one flashback.
- Shantae and the Seven Sirens: Refresh Dance uses "The power of nature" and its icon is green.
- Skylanders: The nature-based Life element is represented by the color green.
- Sonic Heroes: The giant green frogs from the Frog Forest can cause it to rain, which allows plants to grow instantly. They can also summon plants, allowing the team you're playing as to access new areas.
- The Tree of Life: The Plants layer which also has buyables named after plant parts is bright green (initially it was gold like Ecosystems until the color was changed in an update to be more accurate and distinct).
- Yandere Simulator: Sumire Suzuki wears two green flowers in her hair and has green eyes. She's part of the Gardening Club, which plants flowers and dabbles in topiary art.
- hololive: Ceres Fauna is the living embodiment of nature. The most notable part of her appearance is her green hair.
- AsapSCIENCE: In the song "SCIENCE WARS", the Anthropomorphic Personification of Biology wears a green T-shirt and is portrayed as being In Harmony with Nature from studying it extensively.
- Neopets: Earth Faeries (who are essentially nature fairies) are decked out in green dresses, with leaf-like wings and green eyes. The quest-giving Earth Faerie, Illusen, lives in a glade in the lush green kingdom of Meridell, instead of Faerieland with most other faeries.
- Darkwing Duck: Most of Bushroot's body (save for his purple hair and brownish-gray lower torso) is green and he can accelerate the growth of plants. He can also turn into plants like a vine or a log.
- Family Guy: Played for Laughs in "Peter's Sister": a cutaway revolving around Stewie doing an ad for Monster energy drink has a jittery and rambling Stewie say "It's green, so it's nature!" to upsell the drink.
- Kaeloo: Kaeloo is a green frog who is a Nature Lover and she's especially protective of plants like flowers.
- The Owl House: The Plant Coven is color-coded green. Interestingly, while plants made from magic are green, native flora on the Boiling Isles comes in shades of red.
- PAW Patrol: Tracker wears a green hat and vest, and he used to live in the jungle before Carlos adopted him. He is shown to be good with wild animals. Additionally, a toy figurine of him as a Mighty Pupnote wears a lighter green suit and has a green leaf on the front of his vehicle.
- She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: Perfuma wears a green vine as a part of her tiara and a green shawl, and her primary power is the controlling of plants (including trees), which she can grow at will. She also often attacks with vines.
- Total Drama: Dawn, a Friend to All Living Things who was given supernatural powers from the Earth, wears a green sweater.
- Wakfu: The Sadida race has a deep connection to nature, their lives are deeply tied to the Tree of Life and their powers allow them to summon and manipulate plants and brambles. All of them have brown skin and green hair mimicking the brown branches/trunks and green leaves of trees and bushes, the males even having green facial hair covering their entire head.
- Winx Club: Flora, who has a Green Thumb, tends to have green accents in her outfits.
