While trying to read more about the actual case of the trader who didn't know what he was trading, I found [1] which contains this quote:
> The “green” in green Douglas fir refers to the fact that it has been newly cut (it has not been dried), just like someone who is new at something is referred to as green.
This was interesting/funny to me, since I was sure that the name "green lumber" comes from the fact that it is green if you look at it (being plant material which was recently alive). I'm not saying a full-size tree will be green like your kitchen garden basil stalks inside, but e.g. under the bark there are green hues.
I would never have thought it came from the "green = n00b" connection. Am I the mistaken one, now?