Mushrooms come in a vast array of colours. The most common ones appear in earth tone shades – muted greys, ochres and browns. In this instance, colour is helping to camouflage them while they grow in nature. Conversely, some fungi are extremely colourful to help camouflage them when they thrive amongst blooming flowers and populate verdant landscapes. Vivid colours also attract insects and animals who, in turn, will eat them and spread their spores to new locations. Some are brightly coloured to warn predators to stay away. Mushrooms, like humans and animals, produce pigments (melanins and carotenoids) that act as a shield against harmful UV radiation. As seen with certain darkly pigmented bird eggs, deep coloured mushrooms absorb more heat from the sun, helping them to flourish. Scientists continue to discover new information about fungi colours, aiding them in their understanding of these complex fruiting structures.