On f20r, we see a plant with eleven branches branching out from the top of the root. The longest two of these branches have clusters of blue "flowers" at the ends. Interestingly, the leaves on the two branches containing flowers have a alternating pattern of red and green leaf coloration, while the leaves on the other branches are uniformly green.
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I wonder if anyone has ever seen a connection between the presence/absence of flowers and the coloration of the leaves (or any other property of the leaves for that matter, since the coloration may be "symbolic" somehow) in any other botanical illustrations, or if there is any phenomenon like this in the botanical world, even if the plants exhibiting such behavior do not resemble the plant on You are not allowed to view links.
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(02-06-2016, 02:12 PM)Sam G Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.On f20r, we see a plant with eleven branches branching out from the top of the root. The longest two of these branches have clusters of blue "flowers" at the ends. Interestingly, the leaves on the two branches containing flowers have a alternating pattern of red and green leaf coloration, while the leaves on the other branches are uniformly green.
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I wonder if anyone has ever seen a connection between the presence/absence of flowers and the coloration of the leaves (or any other property of the leaves for that matter, since the coloration may be "symbolic" somehow) in any other botanical illustrations, or if there is any phenomenon like this in the botanical world, even if the plants exhibiting such behavior do not resemble the plant on You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. in any other way.
There are plants that do that, some in an ordered way, some a little more disordered, usually toward the end of their season.
Let me see if I can quickly find an example (I have to run, unfortunately)...
Okay, here's a quick one. Several species of
Hypericon have this characteristic and I quickly grabbed a pic:
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Plant 20r is not likely to be
Hypericon (that was just an example I could grab quickly), unless it's one of the Mediterranean dwarf species, it's more likely from the
Ericaceae,
Lamiaceae (e.g.. thyme) or
Lythraceae families. They all have small opposite leaves, sometimes red stems and many of them get red leaves in the fall.
Okay, gotta run...
So does the leaf coloration on these plants change according to whether or not the branch possesses flowers/berries at the end? Because something like that seems to be what the VMS illustration is depicting.
(03-06-2016, 02:03 PM)Sam G Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.So does the leaf coloration on these plants change according to whether or not the branch possesses flowers/berries at the end? Because something like that seems to be what the VMS illustration is depicting.
Good question.
I'm not familiar with all the plants that do this, but it may be that the seed branches turn more red than the others (many plants only bear berries on the branch's new growth or sometimes on its second-year growth).
Or, another possible interpretation of the drawing is that it's showing spring and mid-year green on the basal branches and fall branches with seeds on the more upright branches.
It was not common to show this much detail in medieval herbals, but there are a few that will feature both the flowers and the later seedheads on the same plant/picture, so it wouldn't be completely unprecedented if it were done this way.
Also, when the red and green are shown alternately, as they are in the VMS, it can mean something else in some herbals. The VMS plant is a bit more naturalistic than many herbals, but in some, the alternating red and green doesn't necessarily mean the facing leaves alternate (although sometimes they do), sometimes they draw it that way to indicate that the fronts of the leaves are one color (e.g., green) and the backs of the leaves are another (e.g., red or purple or a very pale green).
My impression of this specific plant drawing is that it's probably overall more naturalistic than schematic, but it's possible that the leaves are somewhat schematic.
I think the illustrator is trying to show the differently coloured upper and under sides of leafes, cp. f 1v