Colour should be assessed on mature fruit-bodies in good light conditions (natural light is best). When the pileus is a mixture of colours, choose the predominant colour (so if mainly black with a dark brown edge, and covered in small white spots, choose black). Record colour from the visible pileus surface, irrespective of whether this is remnants of a veil overlying the true surface of the pileus.

If the colour can best be described as a modification of one colour by another, you should usually choose the main colour. So, if the colour is reddish orange, choose orange, and if yellowish brown, choose brown. However, where there are tints of blue, green or purple, these states should be chosen.

Colour charts are referred to in capitals: BFF (Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, 1969), METHUEN (Kornerup & Wanscher, 1978) and RAYNER (Rayner, 1970).

The same colour name can be applied to different colours in different colour charts (compare apricot in BFF and METHUEN). If a colour is on the border between two of the categories (such as the orange yellow colour apricot, or the blue green colour verdigris) choose both colours.

Choose this state if: the pileus is brown, including shades from light to dark (but not pale). Included here are colours such as bay, fawn, clay, tan, eye brown, teak, chocolate, coffee, hazel, bronze, beaver brown, umber and burnt umber. Colours that are best described as a modification of brown with tones of yellow, orange, red or pink also belong here, such as reddish brown and yellowish brown. For colours such as rust, which are at the borders of red, orange and brown, choose brown if you would described the colour as rusty brown or choose red if the colour is rusty red.

If the colour is best described as brown obviously modified with blue, green or purple, choose blue, green or purple.

The colour vinaceous (often used in descriptions of fungi, and see BFF and RAYNER) lies at the border of purple and brown, choose one or both options according to the predominant impression of the colour.

For very pale shades of brown, such as pale buff, choose pale.