A blue-green complex, glycylglycylglycinocopper(II) chloride sesquihydrate, has been crystallized from an aqueous solution containing equimolar proportions of glycylglycylglycine and cupric chloride. The boat-shaped crystals are monoclinic, space-group C2/c, with 8 formula units in a cell with dimensions a=21.36, b=6.72, c=15.64/~; fl=98 ° 15'.The metal atom is bonded to the terminal nitrogen and to the oxygen atom of the first peptide residue. In the crystal, the terminal carboxyl group is coordinated to a second copper atom, so that the structure consists of infinite -Cu-peptide-Cu-peptide-chains. These are cross-linked by a hydrogen-bond network making efficient use of the water molecules and chloride ions. The copper atoms are 5-coordinated. The configuration of the ligand atoms is tetragonal pyramidal: the 'top' of the pyramid is occupied by a water molecule and the corners of the base by the terminal nitrogen and peptide oxygen of one peptide chain, a carboxylic oxygen of another peptide, and a chloride ion.