Linda, Nymphoides is small. People don't photograph the rhizomes, they photograph the bladders because they are more interesting.
The only people interested in the rhizomes are scientists, botanists.
The more familiar water lily rhizomes are huge in comparison, so they are photographed much more often
Here is a link to a botanical article with pics of the Nymphoides rhizome posted above:
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The VMS is small, the details are tiny. Whoever created it was a detail person and would have noticed something like the rhizome on nymphoides if they were genuinely interested in plants, which I believe they were. This is not just a copyist. This was a gardener or a budding medieval botanist.
The VMS flower does not look like a regular water lily. It looks more like Nymphoides. The pistil is prominently displayed in the VMS drawing to show the difference! It also looks like medieval drawings of other flowers from the Menyanthes group.
The only people interested in the rhizomes are scientists, botanists.
The more familiar water lily rhizomes are huge in comparison, so they are photographed much more often
Here is a link to a botanical article with pics of the Nymphoides rhizome posted above:
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
The VMS is small, the details are tiny. Whoever created it was a detail person and would have noticed something like the rhizome on nymphoides if they were genuinely interested in plants, which I believe they were. This is not just a copyist. This was a gardener or a budding medieval botanist.
The VMS flower does not look like a regular water lily. It looks more like Nymphoides. The pistil is prominently displayed in the VMS drawing to show the difference! It also looks like medieval drawings of other flowers from the Menyanthes group.