Any of a group of related green pigments found in photosynthetic organisms, especially:
a. A waxy blue-black microcrystalline green-plant pigment, C55H72MgN4O5, with
a characteristic blue-green alcohol solution. Also called chlorophyll a. b. A
similar green-plant pigment, C55H70MgN4O6, having a brilliant green alcohol solution.
Also called chlorophyll b.
Excerpted from The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Third
Edition Copyright © 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version
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