f37v

[-JKP-]

So Lunaria maior is purely mythical, is it?

Do you have any ideas for the Voynich You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. identification? I think it might be imaginary as well (the folio does not mention any of the Voynich stars).

I'm less certain about You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. than some of the other plants, and I'm not sure of the significance of the man-like root, but I do have a short list of some possible IDs...

There's a plant with round scalloped leaves called Sibthorpia peregrina (syn. Disandra prostrata) and also Sibthorpia europaea. Sibthorpia is a viny ground cover, a medicinal plant. The stem is not as thick as shown in the VMS plant, so I'm not certain it's a good match.

Umbilicus rupestris is a very widespread medicinal plant with rounded leaves, but they are broadly scalloped, not small and regularly scalloped like the VMS plant, so I'm not sure it's a good candidate.

Glechoma hederacea is a very common medicinal ground ivy with rounded, scalloped leaves but the flowers are more like snap-dragon and not so much like the VMS flowers and they grow from the leaf nodes, not specifically at the top of the plant.

Possibly Lamium (dead nettle). It grows everywhere, but it only looks like the VMS pic if you flatten it.

Maybe alpine coltsfoot (Homogyne alpina) in the spring when the flowers are not fully open.


A stronger possibility may be Saxifraga granulata, which is also a medicinal plant with rounded, scalloped leaves, and the fruiting bodies look somewhat like the "spinnerheads" on the VMS plant. The root is unusual... it looks knobby, a bit like garlic. If I remember correctly, it originates near the border of France and Spain.

Another thing in favor of the saxifrages is that some of them have round raised red dots on the center stalk above the blossoms (on some these are long stamens, but on others they are short so they almost seem attached to the pistil), and it's quite possible that this might inspire those unusual heads on the VMS flower stalks.

There are some others with similar leaves, like some of the veronicas, but their flowers don't match as well.