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A surveyof colorchartsfor biologicaldescriptions

Arthur O. Tucker',Michael J. Maciarello' & Sharon S. Tucker2

Summary Tucker,A. O., Maciarello, M. J. & Tucker,S. S.: A survey of color charts for biological descriptions. - Taxon40: 201-214. 1991. - ISSN 0040-0262. Color charts for biological descriptions have been published since 1776. These have varied in form to include bound volumes and fans with pigment samples or color printing and have been used to describe a range of organisms as specific as one genus to all natural history subjects. We recommend the format of the second edition of the Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart (c. 1986) in conjunction with the cross-reference for other color charts from the 1966 edition.

The human eye can distinguish about 10 million surface colors in daylight (Kelly & Judd, 1976). However, the annotation of color in biological descriptions is inherently difficult because of differing perceptions and memories of hue, value, and chroma. The language of color also varies by the system adopted: ACC, CIELAB (Eurocolor), Chroma Cosmos 5000, Chromaton 707, Coloroid, DIN-Farbenkarte,Farbenordnung Hickethier, Hesselgren, ISCC-NBS, Munsell, Natural Color System, OSA-UCS, Ostwald, Plochere, Prase, Ridgway, or Villalobos (Baumann, 1937; Billmeyer, 1985; Budde, 1953; Foss & al., 1944; Hesselgren, 1953; Middleton, 1949a, b; Munsell Color Co., 1962; Nickerson, 1947, 1956; Ostwald, 1932; Rosch, 1972; Villalobos-Dominguez & Villalobos, 1947). Furthermore, color descriptions are even more difficult because of the absence of a universally accepted color chart (Barnes, 1949; Davis, 1956; Middleton, 1949a, b; Patek, 1969; Wyman, 1947). We have surveyed the available color charts that were published for biological descriptions (or utilized by biologists) in an effort to locate the best and to define the practical parametersof the ideal color chart that are additional to those cited by Huse & Kelly (1984): "1) availability of a suitable color chart at a reasonable cost and 2) a readily comprehended vocabulary of color names to convey impressions of color to those who may not have ready access to the color chart cited in a description". In evaluating these color charts, daylight from the northern sky (no direct daylight) should be used against a neutral gray background (Kelly & Judd, 1976; Huse & Kelly, 1984). We tried to avoid the evaluation of color nomenclatural systems. The preference of one color nomenclatural system over another in the past has been tinged with some emotion and nationalistic pride. In the references cited above, advocates of each system have claimed superiority over their predecessors and a consensus is far beyond the scope of a survey paper on format and practicality.
Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Delaware State College, Dover, DE 19901-2275, U.S.A.
2

Parallel Program, University of Delaware, Delaware Technical and Community College, Dover, DE 19901, U.S.A.

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Harris (1776, 1781,1782) Moses Harris' An exposition of English insects... includes 72 watercolors (9-12 x 13-26 mm), in a circle of pure hues, tints, shades, and tones for descriptions of insects. After over 200 years these watercolors still appear relatively bright. This hardcover book includes text in English and French and was later reprinted in a French edition (Harris, 1786). Syme (1814,1821) Patrick Syme's Werner'snomenclature of colours was published for use in zoology, botany, chemistry, mineralogy, and morbid anatomy. The 1814 hardcover edition includes 13 charts with 108 color chips (12 x 9 to 12 x 12 mm), all with common names, while the 1821hardcoveredition includes 13 charts with 110color chips (10 x 10 mm), all with common names. This elaborates upon an earlier system by Werner,a Scotch mineralogist. When available, animal, vegetable, and mineral examples are given. Todaythese pigmented mat chips show considerable aging and variation among copies: blue chips are mottled, green chips have bled to the edge of the chip, sulphur yellow is now light green, primrose yellow is now cream, the black and white print on the facing pages has bled onto the chips, and many colors have bled onto the facing pages. Merimee (1815) J. F L. Merimee's supplement to C. F Brisseau-Mirbel's Elemens de physiologie vegetale et de botanique includes watercolors (6 x 7-11 mm) arranged in three color wheels designed by M. Gregoire and two strips of grays (7 x 7 mm). After 175 years these watercolors still appear relatively bright. A total of 83 colors, about one-quarter with common names and many with Latin names, oriented to botanical descriptions are encompassed in these cardboard-bound volumes. Sinclair (1825) George Sinclair's Hortus ericaeus Woburnensisincludes an appendix and color wheel by George Hayter.This color wheel includes 270 watercolors (2-16 x 7-9 mm), 22 with common names, for descriptions of heaths. After 165 years these watercolors still appear relatively bright. This hardcoverbook also includes a list of 22 artist colors to preparethe color wheel. Hay (1845, 1846) D. R. Hay's A nomenclatureof colours... (1845, 1846) was published for use in the arts, natural sciences, and manufacturing. This hardcover book includes 240 triangular of color chips (3.9 on side), in 40 charts; about 50 %o these chips have common names. Today these pigmented mat chips are faded in the centers and darkened at the edges. Ridgway (1886, 1912) Robert Ridgway's A nomenclature of colors for naturalists... (1912) was primarily published for use by ornithologists. This hardcoverbook includes 186 color chips (26 x 8 mm), all with common names, in 9 charts. Todaythese pigmented mat chips show streaking by hand application and smearing from later use; the colors show darkening

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and mottling, especially the oranges, browns, greens, blues, and reds, with bleeding of colors onto the facing pages. Ridgway's Color standards and color nomenclature (1912, but actually published in 1913 according to Hamly, 1949b) was frequently cited by ornithologists, mammalogists, and mycologists because of the large number of colors encompassed. This hardcover book includes 1117color chips (25 x 12.5 mm), all with common names (although the title page claims 1115colors), in 53 charts. Zimmer (1948) noted that this was reissued c. 1937 and possibly c. 1940 with no indication on the title page; these reissues were prepared without Ridgway's attention and show deterioration today. Hamly (1949a) and Illman & Hamly (1948) provided Munsell notations, but stated that there was "no satisfactory way to describe those colors which occupy positions in the color space between named chips, since the spacing between the steps is quite variable".Smithe (1974) noted "many new colors are added, and thirty-four former colors are omitted or replaced. The addition of new colors does not cause any confusion, but this cannot be said of the omissions"'Wyman (1947) noted the absence of a sufficient number of reds and yellows for horticultural purposes. Today these pigmented mat chips show discoloration, especially the yellows and yellow-greens, and many pigments have bled onto the facing page. Illman & Hamly (1948) compared four copies of this edition and found considerable variation among copies. Hamly (1949b) stated: "It is unfortunate that Ridgway chose some pigments which fluoresce and are affected by humidity, by abrasion, by offsetting, and by hue shift" Costantin & Dufour (1891) M. J. Costantin & M. L. Dufour's Nouvelleflore des champignonspour la determination facile de toutes les especes de France utilized sporocarp and spore color in a taxonomic key. This hardcoverbook includes, on one chart, 42 color chips (14 x 5 mm), all with common names. After almost 100 years these chips still appear relatively bright. Saccardo (1891) P. A. Saccardo's Chromotaxia seu nomenclator colorum... was published for general botanical and zoological taxa but was first used by mycologists and was reprinted in 1894 and 1912 (Stafleu & Cowan, 1983: 1034). This hardcover volume includes two charts with 50 color chips (30 x 19 mm), all with common names. Synonyms are given in Latin, Italian, French, English, and German. Today it is difficult to determine the precise original colors because of variation of the pigmented mat colors between editions and changes due to aging. Dade (1943, 1949) related 48 of Saccardo'sLatin color names to Ridgway (1912), while Kuhner & Romagnesi (1953) related 50 of them to Klincksieck & Vallette (1908) and Seguy (1936). Mathews (1895) E Schuyler Mathews' A chart of correct colors of flowers was printed as a one page supplement to the American Florist for flower colors. This chart encompasses 36 colors (23 x 20 mm), all with common names. The half-tone mat chips emphasize pinks and reds and appear mottled and pale today.

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Oberthur& Dauthenay (1905) Rene Oberthtir& Henri Dauthenay's Repertoirede couleurs... was published for horticultural subjects, especially composites. The 365 charts are packed in two cardboard packets (vol. I: 1-182, vol. II: 183-356) with the text volume (vol. III) of indices and directions sometimes bound separately. The 365 charts have English, German, Spanish, and Italian names cross-referredto Saccardo (1891), Mathews (1895), and Warhurst(1899). A total of 1403 half-tone, semi-glossy to glossy pigment chips (41 x 31 mm) is encompassed, including 19 silvers, golds, and other metallics that have no counterpart in plant colors. After 85 years the colors still appear relatively bright. Although many, including Maerz & Paul (1950), noted the "mysterious system upon which the colors are arranged", this later became the model for the Royal Horticultural Society's color charts. Klincksieck & Vallette(1908) Paul Klincksieck & Th. Vallette'sCode des couleurs... was originally published for use by naturalists, artists, and commercial companies. This hardcover volume includes 720 color chips (25 x 20 mm), on 24 charts, and 24 common names. Today the pigmented mat chips show streaking from hand application, and some colors, especially the yellows, have darkened from the colors on the facing pages. McKelvey (1928) S. D. McKelvey'sFour charts of selected colors conforming to Robert Ridgway's color standards and color nomenclature are appended to her monumental monograph The lilac. The four charts encompass 154 color chips (26 x 13 mm), all with common names. After 62 years these chips still appear relatively bright. Lewis (1929) Thomas Lewis published eleven semi-glossy half-tone colors (25 x 14 mm), none with common names, to representvascular reactions of the human skin with ten additional colors representing dilution by the basal skin color. After 61 years these colors still appear relatively bright. Maerz & Paul (1930, 1950) A. Maerz & M. Rea Paul's A dictionary of color was published for general use but especially textiles. This hardcover volume includes 56 charts with 7056 semi-glossy half-tone color chips (17-27 x 13-17mm), 23 % with common names. A color name bibliography from 32 B.C. to 1928 A.D. is provided with a polyglot table of color names in English, French, Italian, Spanish, German, and Latin and dates of color names. Cross-referencesto Ridgway (1912)and Oberthur& Dauthenay (1905) are provided, as a good guide to using the charts and notes on the color names. The blues and greens of the 1930 edition are lighter than those in the 1950 edition, a yellow pigment has bled onto the facing pages of the 1930 edition, and the purples of the 1930 edition are brighter and more intense. This was cross-referredto Saccardo (1891), Ridgway (1912), and Oberthur & Dauthenay (1905) by Snell & Dick (1957).

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Nicolas (1930, 1938) John Henri Nicolas' The rose manual.. includes four color charts with 36 color chips (189 x 32 mm), all with common names. After 52-60 years these chips still appear relatively bright. Crawshay(1930) Richard Crawshay's The spore ornamentation of the russulas includes eight color chips (23 x 23 mm) on one chart indexed to Oberthiir and Dauthenay (1905). This system was the first proposed specifically for Russula. Color E is too dark and should be more similar to the "ocre pale" of Romagnesi (1967). Schaeffer (1952) reproduced the faulty color printing, which Pearson (1948) attempted to correct (Rayner, 1969). Seguy (1936) E. Seguy's Code universel des couleurs was published for general use. The paperback book has 48 color charts in a strapped envelope with 720 color chips (26 x 21 mm), 36 % with common names. The semi-glossy half-tone chips have non-uniform application of color. Seven complementary colored cards with a hole are provided for viewing each chip (red card with green chips, etc.). Synonyms are provided for some common names in Latin, German, Spanish, English, and Italian. Birren (1939, 1948) Faber Birren's The American colorist... was published for garden clubs and horticultural societies. This paperback book includes 552 glossy half-tone color chips (13-27 x 13-27 mm) on twelve charts. After 48-51 years these chips still appear relatively bright. Judd & Kelly (1939),Kelly & Judd (1955, 1976), Kelly (1964) Kenneth L. Kelly & Deane B. Judd's works were published for general use under the auspices of the National Bureau of Standards,the American Pharmaceutical Association, and the Inter-Society Colour Council-National Bureau of Standards (which consists of 20 societies of national scope and individual expert members). The 7500 color names are meant to be used with the Munsell system with cross-references in the various editions to Ridgway (1912), Maerz & Paul (1950), Dade (1943, 1949), and Wilson (1939, 1942). Kelly & Judd also provide standard methods of sample preparation and viewing. Kelly supplemented these color names with an undated (1964 according to Anonymous, 1985) paper-bound "centroidcolor chart" with 251 glossy pigment color chips (23 x 25 mm) on 18 charts (while 267 color names and spaces were printed on these charts, only 251 centroid colors could be produced in glossy paints). The names for these colors are abbreviatedbut later provided by McKnight (1977), and additional information was supplied by Kelly (1965). Despite the attempts of ISCC-NBS to create a universal color standard, the British Mycological Society Sub-committee on Colour stated that "it is too different from the tradition of colour nomenclature already firmly established in mycology to be acceptable..' (Rayner, 1970). The ISCC-NBS system also designated boundaries between color-name blocks, sometimes an arbitrary decision (Huse & Kelly, 1984), and borderline colors can be difficult to describe. Kelly (1964) is not recommended for horticultural subjects (Huse & Kelly,

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1984). Twenty years later (Anonymous, 1985) the colors of the 1964 edition were evaluated, and 27 were found to have shifted color blocks. Wilson (1939, 1942) The Royal Horticultural Society first proposed a color chart in 1909 (Anonymous, 1909). Robert E Wilson's Horticultural colour chart was essentially identical to the British Colour Council's Wilson colour charts (1938) but oriented to horticultural taxa. These separate plates have 800 color chips (3 x 31 mm), 25 % with common names, arranged on 200 charts as two unbound booklets in cardboard holders. The semi-glossy half-tone chips have the darker shades obtained by the use of intense colored inks rather than by deepening with blacks, so few equivalents can be given for these intense hues. After 48-51 years these chips still appear relatively bright. Useful horticultural examples are provided when available. Synonyms in Dutch, French, German, Italian, Latin, Spanish, and English are provided with a history of the color name. Good directions for the application of the colors are provided with a black viewer to aid in matches. The British Colour Council (1938), Ridgway (1912), Ostwald (1932), and Oberthur & Dauthenay (1905) are cross-referred,while Munsell notations were later provided by Nickerson (1957). Barnes (1949) noted that Wilson was often better for describing mammal colors than either Ridgway (1912) or Maerz & Paul (1930). New England Gladiolus Society (1932, 1944) The New England Gladiolus Society Fischer color chart was published as one page with 108 glossy half-tone color chips (11-16 x 9-43 mm), with very abbreviatedcommon names. This chart was first published in 1932 with instructions by Bibby (1935), and revised in 1944. After 42-58 years the chips still appear relatively bright. Villalobos-Dominguez& Villalobos (1947) C. Villalobos-Dominguez & J. Villalobos' Atlas de los colores was published for general use as a hardcover volume that includes 38 charts with 8056 (Smithe, 1974, claimed 7279 printed colors) color chips (9 x 9 mm), most with common names. Each color chip has a 4 mm hole for ease of comparison. The semi-glossy half-tone color chips are indexed to Ridgway (1912). The annotation system was based upon a hue acronym-lightness value-degree of chromaticity, but the "Villalobos symbols primarily describe the position of a color on a color chart rather than a specific measurement of color" (Smithe, 1974). After 43 years these chips appear relatively bright. American Dahlia Society (1948, 1987) The Dahliadel pocket edition of the horticulturalcolour chart... of 1948 encompasses 168 color chips (30 x 13 mm), all with common names. The mat pigment color chips are bound in a ring notebook and indexed to Ridgway (1912). After 42 years these chips appear relatively bright. The Separationchartfor color classes of 1987 encompasses one chart with 20 glossy pigment color chips (22 x 16 mm), eleven with common names. The use of this color chart was explained by Anonymous (1987).

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Baumann (c. 1948) Baumann's Farbtonkarte.Atlas II was published for use by botanists and zoologists. The cardboard holder includes 680 mat pigment color chips (9 x 19 mm), each chip with an 8 mm diameter hole, on 24 charts and 24 common names. After almost 42 years these chips appear relatively bright. Cailleux & Taylor(1952) A. Cailleux & G. Taylor'sCode expolaire was published for use in agronomy, geology, geography, and soil science. This paperback volume, bound in a plastic envelope, includes 260 semi-glossy half-tone pigment chips (9 x 15 mm), every four chips with a 9 mm diameter hole, on two color charts, all with common names. After 38 years these chips appear relatively bright. Munsell Color Co. (1952) The Munsell color chartsfor plant tissues were preparedby the Munsell Color Co. in collaboration with S. A. Wilde and G. K. Voigt as an aid in determining mineral deficiencies and other adverse conditions reflected in leaves. This spiral-bound notebook includes 321 mat pigment color chips (17 x 12 mm) on 15 color charts, none with common names. After 38 years these chips appear relatively bright. Wanscher(1953a, 1953b) Johan Henrik Wanscher's charts were published to describe flowers. The article of 1953a includes three charts with 24 glossy half-tone color chips (77 x 14 mm), 21 with common names. After 37 years these chips appear relatively bright. Cross- references are provided for Judd & Kelly (1939) and Wilson (1939, 1942). The paperback volume of 1953b includes 24 mat half-tone color chips (19 x 80 mm), all with common names, on three charts, and a cross-referenceto Wilson (1939, 1942). Lundstad (1958) provided Norwegian color names. Bondartsev (1954) Apollinarii Semenovich Bondartsev's Shkala tsetov [The color chart] includes 105 mat half-tone color chips (15 x 12 mm) on one chart in a paperback volume. After 36 years these chips appear relatively bright. Palmer & Reilly (1956) Ralph S. Palmer & E. M. Reilly's A concise color standard was published for use by ornithologists. The volume encompasses one chart with 47 semi-glossy half-tone color chips (14 x 14-20 mm), all with common names. After 34 years these chips appear relatively bright. This was cross-referred to Villalobos-Dominguez & Villalobos (1947). American Horticultural Council (1957) The Nickerson color fan... was distributed by the American Horticultural Council (but published by the Munsell Color Co.) to describe plants. It includes 280 color chips (45 x 19 mm), all with common names and numbers indexed according to the Munsell system, on 40 pages bound as a paperback fan in a paper case. After 33 years these chips appear relatively bright.

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Biesalski (1957) Ernest Biesalski's Pflanzenfarbenatlas fur Gartenbau... was published to describe cultivated garden flowers. This includes 450 color chips (20 x 15 mm), with 30 common names, on 30 pages in a ring binder. After 33 years these chips appear relatively bright. A 6 mm hole is provided in the center of each mat pigmented color chip. A horticultural/botanical example is provided for each chip. Locquin (1957, 1975) Marcel Locquin's Chromotaxia... was published in 1957 for use by mycologists and pedologists. The six series of six compensating color filters (Kodak Wratten of series CC) each encompasses 319 colors, all with common names; these are enclosed in a cardboard holder. After 33 years these filters appear relatively bright. Names are provided in English, French, German, and Latin. Criticisms were provided by Illman (1958). Marcel Locquin's Guide des couleurs... was published in 1975 for mycologists. This paperback volume includes 11 charts with 1408 glossy half-tone colors chips (11 x 16 mm), 33 with generic names. After 15 years these chips still appear relatively bright. Paclt (1958) J. Paclt's Farbenbestimmungin der Biologie was published for biologists. The hardcover volume has one page with 92 glossy half-tone color chips (20 x 21 mm), none with common names. After 32 years these chips appear relatively bright. Crossreferences are provided to the Munsell system, Wilson (1939, 1942), and Oberthur & Dauthenay (1905) with an extensive reviewand bibliography. Kornerup& Wanscher(1961,1963, 1967a, 1967b, 1978a, 1978b) A. Kornerup & J. H. Wanscher's Methuen handbook of colour, first published as Farver i farver, was oriented to the professional designer, technologist, and art enthusiast. The 1978b hardcovervolume includes 30 charts with 1266 glossy half-tone with common names. These half-tone color chips are color chips (30 x 15 mm), 49 %o a series of fine dots and not as uniform as pigmented chips. The etymology of common names is provided. "Half-way" color references enable the user to visualize and specify over 8000 other colors not illustrated. Munsell equivalents are included. The directions for use, discussion of color and color names, as well as lists of names of paint colors, are good. A neutral grey finder with three holes is provided. Palmer (1962) Ralph S. Palmer's Handbook of North American birds includes one page with 48 glossy pigmented color chips (14 x 14-21 mm), all with common names. After 28 years these chips appear relatively bright. This was cross-referredto Villalobos-Dominguez & Villalobos (1947). A second printing appeared in 1976. Royal Horticultural Society (1966, c. 1986) The R.H.S. colour chart was published for horticultural taxa. The first edition has 808 with common names, on 202 mostly mat pigment color chips (4 x 32 mm), 50 %o charts arranged as bound fans in a cardboard box. A few colors in the red-purple and

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blue hues were printed by a half-tone screen process to secure the requiredbrightness. Cross-references are provided for the British Colour Council (1938), Wilson (1939, 1942), and American Horticultural Council (1957). This was developed by a committee composed of Kew Gardens, National Dahlia Society, Royal National Rose Society, Royal Color Council, and the Royal Horticultural Society meeting 26 times over one year. The directions for use are very good. Huse & Kelly (1984) criticized the color groupings and color names because they do not suggest value and chroma or sometimes hue. However, Huse & Kelly (1984) provided a partial concordance of this color chart with the ISCC-NBS color names and numbers, Munsell notations, CIE chromaticity coordinates, and daylight reflectance values. Patek (1969) rated this better than the color charts of the American Horticultural Council (1957) or Kelly (1964) for the matching of flower colors. After 24 years these chips appear relatively bright. This was reprinted c. 20 years later by the R.H.S., the Flower Council of Holland (Leiden), and the International Union for the Protection of new Varieties of Plants (UPOV), in a plastic case (Royal Horticultural Society, c. 1986). Color names are not given because "the multiplicity of them defeats their object". The addition of a 12 mm hole in each chip further aids color matching. Romagnesi (1967, 1985) H. Romagnesi's Les russules d'Europe et dAfrique du Nord contained a Code des couleurs..., which was published for spores of Russula. This includes ten mat pigment color chips (35 x 13 mm), all with common names, on one page at the rear of the hardcover text. Tables cross-referred Klincksieck & Vallette (1908), Ridgway (1912), Seguy (1936), Cailleux & Taylor (1952), and Locquin (1957). Rayner (1969) remarked that the chips were visually more evenly spaced and approximated more nearly the actual Russula spore color than those of Crawshay (1930). A cross-reference of Romagnesi to Seguy (1936), Pearson (1948), Schaeffer (1952), Locquin (1957), and Kornerup & Wanscher(1967b) is provided by Bresinsky (1985). Henderson & al. (1969) A colour identification chart accompanied the Britishfungus flora: Agarics and boleti of D. M. Henderson, P. D. Orton & R. Watling. This includes 84 mat pigment color chips (20 x 20 mm), 76 with common names, on one trifold page in a packet at the rear,with a full color spectrum for mushrooms. However,with the trifold, some colors have been folded onto one another with some obvious damage and hints of bleeding. Rayner (1970) R. W. Rayner'sA mycological colour chart includes 18 charts with 128 color chips (19 x 13 mm), all with common names; these charts are enclosed in an envelope to accompany the paperback volume. The mostly mat, sometimes glossy pigment chips are an abbreviated version of the 1115colors in Ridgway (1912) (McKnight, 1972). Latin equivalents are given, as well as Munsell equivalents, determined by D. H. Hamly, R. W. Rayner & E. M. Rayner. This illustrated Dade's (1949) color nomenclature (Rayner'schips in Chart I correspond to blocks in Dade's Chart II). Rosch (1972, 1974) The Hickethier color atlas was originally produced by the color printer Erich Alfred Hickethier but later edited by Siegfried Rosch. The English edition was limited to 700

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copies. This was oriented to a wide variety of disciplines including dermatology, horticulture, and orcharding.The atlas includes 1000very uniform half-tone colors (20 x 20 mm), each covered with a clear film and spaced next to a 16 x 20 mm hole, on 40 charts in a four-ring loose-leaf notebook. Kevan & al. (1973) This scale was published to evaluate insect and human visual spectra. Rather than chips arranged on a chart, formulations of magnesium oxide and carbon are given to create a gray scale. Smithe (1974, 1975, 1981) Frank B. Smithe's Naturalist'scolor guide was published to describe colors in animals and plants but especially for birds. The vinyl covered spiral notebook of the 1975 edition includes eight charts with 86 glossy pigment chips (32 x 25 mm), all with common names. This is based upon Ridgway (1886, 1912) and descriptions of bird plumage published by Ridgway between 1900 and 1919. The 1974 and 1981 supplements provide additional cross-references with the notations of Villalobos-Dominguez & Villalobos (1947) and Hamly (1949a) as well as Munsell color notations. Graf(1976) The ninth edition of Alfred Byrd Grafs Exotica includes, on the end page, a chart with 84 glossy half-tone color chips (22 x 13 mm), all with common names. This is cross-referredto Maerz & Paul (1950) and the Royal Horticultural Society (1966) and has been reprintedin editions of Exotica ever since. Kuppers(1978) H. Kiippers'sDuMont's Farben-Atlaswas published for general use. This paperback volume includes six charts with 5566 glossy half-tone color chips (10 x 10 mm), none with common names. Moser (1978, 1983) Meinhard Moser's Die Rohrlinge und Blatterpilze (Polyporales, Boletales, Agaricales, Russulales) includes 56 glossy color chips (19 x 10 mm) on a loose sheet in a pocket, and a 19 x 10 mm mask. This color chart only includes shades of browns as half-tone reproductions of streakedwatercolors. Gerhardt(1984) Volume 1 of Ewald Gerhardt'sPilze includes 28 glossy color chips (9 x 22 mm) on one page. This color chart only includes shades of brown as half-tone reproductions of streakedwatercolors;the intensity of color also varies within each chip. Conclusions From our survey of available color charts for biological descriptions, we have found that the following practical attributes facilitate easier matches with living material: 1. The ideal color chart should have non-fading and non-bleeding mat pigments, not semi-glossy or glossy half-tones. The half-tone color charts published in the past

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2.

3. 4. 5.

have not been uniform, and the matching of living mat materials with semi-glossy or glossy color charts is difficult because of reflectance. The ideal color chart should be arrangedas fans with chips arrangedin single rows. Matching living specimens with a multiplicity of colors on one page in a bound volume is physically difficult. The color chips should be perforated by holes. The placement of living materials next to the color chips is difficult and induces reflectance. The optimum size of the color chips is 30-40 mm. Largerchips are a waste of pigment, while smaller chips are difficult to compare with living materials. The ideal color chart should be accompanied with a cross-reference to previous color charts.

With these considerations, we recommend the format of the Royal Horticultural Society's colour chart (c. 1986) in conjunction with the cross-referencesfrom the 1966 edition. In 1990 the cost of this color chart was ?28.75. However, it was designed for horticultural taxa and cannot be expected to include the full range of biological colors. Thus, the ideal universal biological color chart still awaits publication. None of the color charts that we have examined properly includes the multitude of metallic colors of zoological subjects. Some colors, such as the vivid colors of spore prints of Gymnopilus, are difficult to match with any existing color chart (Singer, 1986). A comprehensive cross-referenceto all other major charts also needs to be assembled in the fashion of Huse & Kelly (1984), preferably with Latin equivalents as provided by Steam (1983).
Acknowledgements

of Wewishto especially thankInterlibrary and StateColLoan,University Delaware, Delaware for theirhelpin locatingmanyof thesecolor charts. lege,
Literaturecited American Dahlia Society, 1948. Dahliadelpocket edition of the horticultural colour chart, with - 1987. Separation chartfor color classes. American Dahlia Society, Wayne,New Jersey. American Horticultural Council, 1957. Nickerson color fan - maximum chroma - 40 hues.

NewJersey. DahliaSociety,Vineland, autumnsadded.American

MunsellColor,Baltimore. Anonymous,1909.Colourchart.Proc.Roy.Hort. Soc. 34:ccxc-ccxci. - 1985.Addendum.Color - universal languageand dictionaryof names.Natl. Bur.StanJ. 30: Barnes,C. T. 1949.Colornomenclature. Mammology 81-82.
dards Spec. Publ. 440. - 1987. The color separation chart. Bull. Amer. Dahlia Soc. 74(3): 7-8.

Baumann, P. 1937. Baumanns neue Farbtonkarte System Prase. Baumann, Aue. - c. 1948. Baumanns FarbtonkarteAtlas II. Baumann, Aue.

Biesalski, E. 1957. Pflanzenfarbenatlas fiir Gartenbau, Landwirtschaft und Forstwesen mit Farbzeichen nach DIN 6164. Musterschmidt, Gottingen. Billmeyer, F W. 1985. AIC annotated bibliography on color order systems. International Col-

color chart.In: Anonymous,The Gladiolus. Bibby,F M. 1935.Uses of the Fischer-N.E.G.S. NewEnglandGladiolusSociety,Boston.

Birren, F 1939. The American colorist. A practical guide to color harmony and color identification. Crimson Press, Westport, Connecticut. - 1948. The American colorist. A practical guide to color harmony and color identification, ed. 2. Prang, New York.

ourAssociation,Troy, NewYork.

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