The Voynich Ninja

As you may or may not know, I have devoted much attention to various plants on the 89v foldout in the small plants section. I would like to know what you think about a specific plant, because at the moment I'm stuck. It's the one in the middle on this picture:



In my You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. I explore the symbolical imagery hidden in this plant. I also argue that the label indicates that this plant or its fruit was valued for its juice, but of course you needn't take that into account if you find the arguments unconvincing.

However, since I believe the image is high in symbolical content, I am having a hard time pinning down a botanical identification. It is especially the structure pictured below that looks rather strange and perhaps even biologically impossible. My hypothesis is that a fruit (white) and the leaf (green) have been imposed on each other in order to create the symbolical image. Another possibility is that the green part is not a leaf at all but rather the juice emerging from the opened fruit.



Any ideas to which plant or plant parts this drawing might refer to?

Maybe it's a leaf opening up?

(23-08-2016, 09:55 AM)davidjackson Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Maybe it's a leaf opening up?

I've considered that solution, but its main problem is the following: this would mean that we take the image quite literally. This makes the whole plant drawing rather weird: some kind of trunk from which small sticks grow, with one giant "leaf-bud" each.

Well, we don't have to assume it's just one leaf per plant. It could be a mnemomic for "one flower half open" for use in a receipe. IE, the focus could be on the condition of the flower, not the plant.

So you think it may represent a generic flower bud with the flower starting to emerge? But then why have the flower looking like a leaf? 

Could be something like a beech leaf, You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
Sorry, I'm just following along the path you suggested, don't have any personal insights at present.

I really appreciate your help, David, my questions are genuine since at the moment I'm really stuck.

The thing is that I am almost certain that the first part of the label translates as juice or plant sap. Any liquid derived from a plant, really. But almost certain us not completely certain yet.

I must say that the leaf picture you show is quite similar, though in that case the bud would be grossly exaggerated... which is not impossible.

If you would remove the colouring from the plant, does it not resemble Orchidaceae ?

Main article: List of Orchidaceae genera You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

The following are amongst the most notable genera of the orchid family:



Aa

Abdominea

Acampe

Acanthephippium

Aceratorchis

Acianthus

Acineta

Acrorchis

Ada

Aerangis

Aeranthes

Aerides

Aganisia

Agrostophyllum

Amitostigma

Anacamptis

Ancistrochilus

Angraecum

Anguloa

Ansellia

Aorchis

Aplectrum

Arachnis

Arethusa

Armodorum

Ascocenda

Ascocentrum

Ascoglossum

Australorchis

Auxopus

Baptistonia

Barkeria

Barlia

Bartholina

Beloglottis

Biermannia

Bletilla

Brassavola

Brassia

Bulbophyllum

Calypso

Catasetum

Cattleya

Cirrhopetalum

Cleisostoma

Clowesia

Coelogyne

Coryanthes

Cymbidium

Cyrtopodium

Cypripedium

Dactylorhiza

Dendrobium

Disa

Dracula

Encyclia

Epidendrum

Epipactis

Eria

Eulophia

Gongora

Goodyera

Grammatophyllum

Gymnadenia

Habenaria

Herschelia

Ionopsis

Laelia

Lepanthes

Liparis

Ludisia

Lycaste

Masdevallia

Maxillaria

Meliorchis

Mexipedium

Miltonia

Mormodes

Odontoglossum

Oeceoclades

Oncidium

Ophrys

Orchis

Paphiopedilum

Papilionanthe

Paraphalaenopsis

Peristeria

Phaius

Phalaenopsis

Pholidota

Phragmipedium

Platanthera

Pleione

Pleurothallis

Pomatocalpa

Promenaea

Pterostylis

Renanthera

Renantherella

Restrepia

Restrepiella

Rhynchostylis

Roezliella

Saccolabium

Sarcochilus

Satyrium

Selenipedium

Serapias

Sobralia

Sophronitis

Spiranthes

Stanhopea

Stelis

Thrixspermum

Tolumnia

Trias

Trichocentrum

Trichoglottis

Vanda

Vanilla

Yoania

Zeuxine
Zygopetalum

From the mnemonic side of things, the shape of the root reminds me of either a curtseying human or an animal standing on the hind paws with its fore paws being somewhat shorter than the hind ones - either in the course of nature or by matter of a specific pose. Something like a kangaroo or a dancing dog.

Does that make any sense?

---

By the way, if we do not consider the plant to the left in the mutual context with the subject plant (as you have considered them, if I remember correctly), then the plant to the left reminds me of a deer moving leftwards.

If the two are considered together, then a pair of dancers comes to my mind.

Anton!

Your deer suggestion makes more sense than you may expect. I am as sure as one can get in the context of the Voynich that these three plants refer to the labors of Hercules. 

The subject plant is Cerberos (dancing dog because he was dragged into the sunlight for the first time and started vomiting because it caused him extreme discomfort). That you see curtseying in it may be relevant - at this point in the story, Cerberos has willingly submitted himself to Hercules.

The plant to the right is the Hydra, with many heads cut off (limp necks and various appendages) and two remaining.

I had always taken the plant to the left to represent Hercules himself, though the pose always struck me as strange and I could not make sense of how any name for Heracles connected to the label. If you say it might be a deer, though.....