The "Browns" was the name given to one of the two major nation-states on planet Talin IV by observers from Starfleet's First Contact Office. The name was chosen because of the culture's use of the color brown to identify their nation, and because of difficulties Humans had recreating Talin speech.
The Browns were the most powerful nation on Talin's primary continent, which consisted primarily of equatorial desert. Their main political rivals were dubbed the "Greens", a union of five nation-states on the planet's secondary continent.
As of the late 2260s, the Browns were flying space missions to their moon, in vessels comprised of multiple spherical modules. One such craft was en route when the USS Enterprise visited Talin IV in 2269. At the same time, the Greens accused the Browns of conducting illegal military surveillance flights over a Green airbase, a charge the Browns denied. (TOS novel: Prime Directive)