diff --git a/packages/flutter/lib/src/material/material.dart b/packages/flutter/lib/src/material/material.dart
index 93c0611e1e..331b83482a 100644
--- a/packages/flutter/lib/src/material/material.dart
+++ b/packages/flutter/lib/src/material/material.dart
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ import 'package:flutter/foundation.dart';
 import 'package:flutter/rendering.dart';
 import 'package:flutter/widgets.dart';
 
-import 'colors.dart';
 import 'constants.dart';
 import 'theme.dart';
 
@@ -228,9 +227,9 @@ class Material extends StatefulWidget {
   /// [MaterialType.transparency].
   ///
   /// To support dark themes, if the surrounding
-  /// [ThemeData.applyElevationOverlayColor] is [true] and
-  /// this color is [ThemeData.colorScheme.surface] then a semi-transparent
-  /// white will be composited on top this color to indicate the elevation.
+  /// [ThemeData.applyElevationOverlayColor] is true then a semi-transparent
+  /// overlay color will be composited on top this color to indicate
+  /// the elevation.
   ///
   /// By default, the color is derived from the [type] of material.
   final Color color;
@@ -318,7 +317,7 @@ class Material extends StatefulWidget {
   static const double defaultSplashRadius = 35.0;
 }
 
-// Apply a semi-transparent white on surface colors to
+// Apply a semi-transparent colorScheme.onSurface to surface colors to
 // indicate the level of elevation.
 Color _elevationOverlayColor(BuildContext context, Color background, double elevation) {
   final ThemeData theme = Theme.of(context);
@@ -330,7 +329,7 @@ Color _elevationOverlayColor(BuildContext context, Color background, double elev
     // This formula matches the values in the spec:
     // https://material.io/design/color/dark-theme.html#properties
     final double opacity = (4.5 * math.log(elevation + 1) + 2) / 100.0;
-    final Color overlay = Colors.white.withOpacity(opacity);
+    final Color overlay = theme.colorScheme.onSurface.withOpacity(opacity);
     return Color.alphaBlend(overlay, background);
   }
   return background;
diff --git a/packages/flutter/lib/src/material/theme_data.dart b/packages/flutter/lib/src/material/theme_data.dart
index c5d86f35d7..4faf8b7a14 100644
--- a/packages/flutter/lib/src/material/theme_data.dart
+++ b/packages/flutter/lib/src/material/theme_data.dart
@@ -562,8 +562,8 @@ class ThemeData extends Diagnosticable {
   ///
   /// If [colorScheme.brightness] is [Brightness.dark] then
   /// [ThemeData.applyElevationOverlayColor] will be set to true to support
-  /// the Material dark theme method for indicating elevation by overlaying
-  /// a semi-transparent white color on top of the surface color.
+  /// the Material dark theme method for indicating elevation by applying
+  /// a semi-transparent onSurface color on top of the surface color.
   ///
   /// This is the recommended method to theme your application. As we move
   /// forward we will be converting all the widget implementations to only use
@@ -866,19 +866,19 @@ class ThemeData extends Diagnosticable {
   /// Configures the hit test size of certain Material widgets.
   final MaterialTapTargetSize materialTapTargetSize;
 
-  /// Apply a semi-transparent white overlay on Material surfaces to indicate
+  /// Apply a semi-transparent overlay color on Material surfaces to indicate
   /// elevation for dark themes.
   ///
   /// Material drop shadows can be difficult to see in a dark theme, so the
   /// elevation of a surface should be portrayed with an "overlay" in addition
-  /// to the shadow. As the elevation of the component increases, the white
+  /// to the shadow. As the elevation of the component increases, the
   /// overlay increases in opacity. [applyElevationOverlayColor] turns the
   /// application of this overlay on or off.
   ///
-  /// If [true] a semi-transparent white overlay will be applied to the color
-  /// of [Material] widgets when their [Material.color] is [colorScheme.surface].
-  /// The level of transparency is based on [Material.elevation] as per the
-  /// Material Dark theme specification.
+  /// If [true] a semi-transparent version of [colorScheme.onSurface] will be
+  /// applied on top of the color of [Material] widgets when their [Material.color]
+  /// is [colorScheme.surface]. The level of transparency is based on
+  /// [Material.elevation] as per the Material Dark theme specification.
   ///
   /// If [false] the surface color will be used unmodified.
   ///
diff --git a/packages/flutter/test/material/material_test.dart b/packages/flutter/test/material/material_test.dart
index 60b4fe69c0..dfcfde27db 100644
--- a/packages/flutter/test/material/material_test.dart
+++ b/packages/flutter/test/material/material_test.dart
@@ -231,29 +231,34 @@ void main() {
       expect(model.color, equals(surfaceColor));
     });
 
-    testWidgets('applyElevationOverlayColor set to true overlays a transparent white on surface color', (WidgetTester tester) async {
+    testWidgets('applyElevationOverlayColor set to true applies a semi-transparent onSurface color to the surface color', (WidgetTester tester) async {
+      const Color surfaceColor = Color(0xFF121212);
+      const Color onSurfaceColor = Colors.greenAccent;
+
       // The colors we should get with a base surface color of 0xFF121212 for
-      // a given elevation
+      // and a given elevation
       const List<ElevationColor> elevationColors = <ElevationColor>[
         ElevationColor(0.0, Color(0xFF121212)),
-        ElevationColor(1.0, Color(0xFF1E1E1E)),
-        ElevationColor(2.0, Color(0xFF222222)),
-        ElevationColor(3.0, Color(0xFF252525)),
-        ElevationColor(4.0, Color(0xFF282828)),
-        ElevationColor(6.0, Color(0xFF2B2B2B)),
-        ElevationColor(8.0, Color(0xFF2D2D2D)),
-        ElevationColor(12.0, Color(0xFF323232)),
-        ElevationColor(16.0, Color(0xFF353535)),
-        ElevationColor(24.0, Color(0xFF393939)),
+        ElevationColor(1.0, Color(0xFF161D19)),
+        ElevationColor(2.0, Color(0xFF18211D)),
+        ElevationColor(3.0, Color(0xFF19241E)),
+        ElevationColor(4.0, Color(0xFF1A2620)),
+        ElevationColor(6.0, Color(0xFF1B2922)),
+        ElevationColor(8.0, Color(0xFF1C2C24)),
+        ElevationColor(12.0, Color(0xFF1D3027)),
+        ElevationColor(16.0, Color(0xFF1E3329)),
+        ElevationColor(24.0, Color(0xFF20362B)),
       ];
-      const Color surfaceColor = Color(0xFF121212);
 
       for (ElevationColor test in elevationColors) {
         await tester.pumpWidget(
             Theme(
               data: ThemeData(
                 applyElevationOverlayColor: true,
-                colorScheme: const ColorScheme.dark().copyWith(surface: surfaceColor),
+                colorScheme: const ColorScheme.dark().copyWith(
+                  surface: surfaceColor,
+                  onSurface: onSurfaceColor,
+                ),
               ),
               child: buildMaterial(
                 color: surfaceColor,