f17r

[-JKP-]

OK, so the "Oculus Christi" has been identified as Inula after all. The problem is that "Oculus Christi" in BNF Latin 17844 does not look like Inula Helenium at all. Inula helenium has yellow flowers and broad leaves. Inula Oculus Christi is closer in terms of leaves, but it has yellow flowers still. While I would admit that blue in the VMS and red in BNF Latin 17844 may be variants of the same thing, they both do not have anything in common with yellow. Since the "eye of God" is associated with at least three plants even in the same herbal, I think further attempts should be made to identify the plant in BNF Latin 17844, 101r.

I agree with you, Anton, Inula doesn't look like them at all.

The leaves are mostly basal (thicker at the base of the plant and more cuneate), the petals of the flower are more discrete, like daisy petals, and longer (a fairly different shape and distribution from the puff on the VMS plant) and yes, they are distinctly yellow.


It's entirely possible there are more plants named Oculus Christi. There are also many plants with the word "eye" in them (in various languages), with ox-eye daisy being one of the most well-known examples. There is also an Oculus Maria (Myosotis) but it doesn't resemble the VMS plant.