Abstract
The barks of Myrica rubra have been rather extensively used as a dyeing agent since the medieval centuries in Japan. In this dyeing process, myricetin, which is a flavonol type pigment, and about 12% of condensed tannins are involved. The silk cloths dyed with this stuff mostly show the colors which are determined to be yellow based colors by Munsel color formula, tints of which being dependable upon the types of the mordants employed.
According to our extraction experiment in which silk cloths were placed in the extract, it seems quite certain that the tannins dissolve out first and then myricetin comes out. This is also demonstrated by the fact that the silk cloths dyed with pigment-tannin extracts have darker color than those dyed solely with pigment.
It can be said that tannins contribute to the reduction of chroma of dyed cloths in vegetable dyeing. The color fastness tests show that myricetin is not very much resistive to ultraviolet rays.
