Plumbago vs. Graphite — What's the Difference?

Plumbago is a genus of 10–20 species of flowering plants in the family Plumbaginaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the world. Common names include plumbago and leadwort (names which are also shared by the genus Ceratostigma).

Graphite (), archaically referred to as plumbago, is a crystalline form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a hexagonal structure. It occurs naturally in this form and is the most stable form of carbon under standard conditions.

See graphite.

A soft crystalline allotrope of carbon, composed of graphene layers, having a steel-gray to black metallic luster and a greasy feel, used in lead pencils, lubricants, paints and coatings, and fabricated into a variety of forms such as molds, bricks, electrodes, crucibles, and rocket nozzles. Also called black lead, plumbago.

See leadwort.

An allotrope of carbon, consisting of planes of carbon atoms arranged in hexagonal arrays with the planes stacked loosely, that is used as a dry lubricant, in "lead" pencils, and as a moderator in some nuclear reactors.

(botany) A plant of the genus Plumbago; leadwort.

Short for graphite-reinforced plastic, a composite plastic made with graphite fibers noted for light weight strength and stiffness.

Graphite.

A grey colour, resembling graphite or the marks made with a graphite pencil.

Same as Graphite.

(transitive) To apply graphite to.

A genus of herbaceous plants with pretty salver-shaped corollas, usually blue or violet; leadwort.

Native carbon in hexagonal crystals, also foliated or granular massive, of black color and metallic luster, and so soft as to leave a trace on paper. It is used for pencils (improperly called lead pencils), for crucibles, and as a lubricator, etc. Often called plumbago or black lead.

Used as a lubricant and as a moderator in nuclear reactors

Used as a lubricant and as a moderator in nuclear reactors

Any plumbaginaceous plant of the genus Plumbago