(11-01-2017, 08:18 PM)Anton wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.How about Carthamus tinctorius?
The reason I stayed away from Carthamus tinctorius is because it has alternate leaves.
If we accept that the real plant might have alternate leaves, rather than opposite leaves as in the VMS plant, then there are about 50 more plants that might match (including many of the thistles).
I think the VMS illustrator was careful about opposite/alternate (I only saw a couple of exceptions and they were on plants that looked somewhat symbolic like the one with the bearded-man's profile in the tendril). I base this opinion on having looked carefully at all the plants and trying to determine which parts the illustrator drew literally and which parts were often distorted or mnemonic in nature. I could be wrong, but I'm about 85% confident that the choice of alternate or opposite is deliberate (and correct in the plants that appear naturalistic).