01-04-2019, 06:18 AM
Here, I'll give you an example.
Those who are familiar with old herbals probably know what this is. But if you gave this to 100 modern botanists who have not studied medieval herbals and asked them to identify the plant, without a label (as in the VMS), it's possible that not a single one would get it right.
I know immediately what this plant is but ONLY because I know which tradition it's from and how they typically drew this specific plant:
Those who are familiar with old herbals probably know what this is. But if you gave this to 100 modern botanists who have not studied medieval herbals and asked them to identify the plant, without a label (as in the VMS), it's possible that not a single one would get it right.
I know immediately what this plant is but ONLY because I know which tradition it's from and how they typically drew this specific plant: