The Scottish Government has spent more than £5,500 on flags in the past four years 38 of them saltires.
Officials have bought more Scottish standards and European Community flags than they have Union Flags, of which just one was purchased.
Scottish Conservative MSP Alex Johnstone asked where the solitary British flag had been put and also asked if the Scottish flag waved by Alex Salmond following Andy Murray’s Wimbledon victory was bought out of the public purse.
He said: “Some key questions need to be answered here. What did the Scottish Government do with the solitary union flag it bought is it in a position of prominence, and if so where?
“It also needs to explain why it spent so much on saltires and what they have been used for.
“Did the taxpayer fund the flag so disgracefully unravelled from Mrs Salmond’s handbag and humiliatingly waved at Wimbledon over the summer?”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “In line with our flag protocols in place since the previous administration the flag flown regularly outside our main buildings is the saltire.
“Dependent on weather conditions these flags require to be replaced from time to time. We also hold supplies of the range of other flags required by the protocols.”