I think whoever drew the VMS plants knew plants. When I compare the more naturalistic VMS plant drawings with others from the early 15th century, I always get the feeling that the person wasn't just copying some text in a library or university, that it was someone who was interested in gardening or perhaps had gathered plants in order to draw them in addition to having seen at least one or two medieval herbals.
Part of the reason I think it's someone who knew plants is because there's quite a bit of emphasis on the seeds and on sprouts (or possibly pruning) compared to some of the other plant books. If you garden (especially in the Middle Ages), seeds (and sprouting new plants from tubers) represents the future.
But, I only get this feeling from the more naturalistic plants. Others appear to be symbolic or stylized.
Part of the reason I think it's someone who knew plants is because there's quite a bit of emphasis on the seeds and on sprouts (or possibly pruning) compared to some of the other plant books. If you garden (especially in the Middle Ages), seeds (and sprouting new plants from tubers) represents the future.
But, I only get this feeling from the more naturalistic plants. Others appear to be symbolic or stylized.