When you look through the other threads, you'll see that I think it's Villarsia/Menyanthes (the reason I always combine these is because the two are so similar they used to think they were the same and a person in the 15th century would not be able to tell the difference without a microscope). Nymphoides.
The flower is wrong for Asarum (they have short, stubby, hard, jug-like brownish flowers near the base of the stalk), and... most medieval illustrators managed to draw Asarum correctly enough to distinguish it from others.
Asarum is on my list of possibilities for this plant, so I'm not discounting the possibility, but Villarsia fits it better in terms of proportions and features (especially the rhizome and leaf). A lot of people resisted Villarsia/Nymphoides when I first suggested it (some still disagree with it), but I think it's a strong contender.
Nymphoides comes in white and yellow, fringed and unfringed, and the leaf varies from arrow-shaped to kidney-shaped. It grows all over the world in moderate to warmer climates. Sometimes it has a little "shelf" at the base of the calyx.
Here are examples of several different species of Villarsia. The ones that grow in the New World are almost identical to those from the Old Word:
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People frequently ask me if Villarsia is included in medieval herbals (usually the ones who disagree with Villarsia and think it's one of the bigger more familiar water lilies). The answer is yes, Villarsia is in several of them. It is sometimes labeled Nymphoides and sometimes Villarsia. It was usually drawn with white or yellow flowers.
This was the drawing that drew me to the VMS. The root is very well drawn.
The flower is wrong for Asarum (they have short, stubby, hard, jug-like brownish flowers near the base of the stalk), and... most medieval illustrators managed to draw Asarum correctly enough to distinguish it from others.
Asarum is on my list of possibilities for this plant, so I'm not discounting the possibility, but Villarsia fits it better in terms of proportions and features (especially the rhizome and leaf). A lot of people resisted Villarsia/Nymphoides when I first suggested it (some still disagree with it), but I think it's a strong contender.
Nymphoides comes in white and yellow, fringed and unfringed, and the leaf varies from arrow-shaped to kidney-shaped. It grows all over the world in moderate to warmer climates. Sometimes it has a little "shelf" at the base of the calyx.
Here are examples of several different species of Villarsia. The ones that grow in the New World are almost identical to those from the Old Word:
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
People frequently ask me if Villarsia is included in medieval herbals (usually the ones who disagree with Villarsia and think it's one of the bigger more familiar water lilies). The answer is yes, Villarsia is in several of them. It is sometimes labeled Nymphoides and sometimes Villarsia. It was usually drawn with white or yellow flowers.
This was the drawing that drew me to the VMS. The root is very well drawn.