The absorption and emission spectra and the fluorescence lifetimes and quantum yields of alloxazine and several of its N- and C- methyl-substituted derivatives, including two isoalloxazines, have been measured in a nonpolar solvent (1,2-dichloroethane), a polar aprotic solvent (acetonitrile), and a polar protic solvent (ethanol). The excited state decays are all single exponential, suggesting that only one emitting species is present in all cases. The spectroscopic data show that the emitting species is the π,π* electronic excited state corresponding to the ground state of the absorbing molecule; there is no evidence of excited state proton transfer for any of these solutes in any of the three solvents. The longer lifetimes and larger fluorescence quantum yields of the isoalloxazines compared with the alloxazines can be attributed exclusively to significantly slower rates of radiationless relaxation in the excited isoalloxazines. The remission and emission spectra of these same compounds adsorbed on cellulose are similar to the corresponding absorption and emission spectra in homogeneous solution, suggesting that the emitting species are the same in the adsorbed state as they are in homogeneous solution. However, the adsorbed excited species exhibit non-exponential temporal decay, attributed to inhomogeneities in the binding of the chromophore to cellulose. The emission spectra of polycrystalline samples of alloxazine and lumichrome suggest the possible occurrence of double intermolecular excited state proton transfer, but this interpretation is not supported by the further photophysical data obtained here.Key words: photophysics, spectroscopy, alloxazine, lumiflavin, cellulose.