I'm pretty sure this VMS plant is Valerian phu. It has two very distinct characteristics... the flowers at the top of the stalk split into three, and the leaves are narrow, opposite, and odd pinnate.
Scabiosa is another possibility, but it doesn't always split into 3, sometimes it's 1 or 2 or 4, so the shape of the flower is more important than how many are at the top.
VMS 90v2 is one of the more naturalistic VMS plants, and is drawn similarly to some of the medieval drawings of phu (which is not surprising since Phu has distinctive characteristics).
![[Image: VMS90v2Phu.png]](https://voynichportal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/VMS90v2Phu.png)
I blogged about it in 2013 (when there weren't as many medieval herbals available):
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Actually, these drawings are a good representation of how people thought in the Middle Ages. The two top images are later ones, more naturalistic, the bottom ones are medieval and early Renaissance and somewhat more schematic. If you think of it in these terms... what are the most distinctive characteristics? then you can see that the drawings are created to emphasize the flowers and leaves (not to make them look "real"), which is what you look for in this specific plant.
Notice how the VMS is the only one that caught the nubby shapes at the base of the flower head (you can also see this in the later pic above it). This is why I love the VMS. It was someone who knew a few things about plants or, at the very least, was paying attention to some of the details that were not noticed or not considered important by most other plant illustrators at the time.
Scabiosa is another possibility, but it doesn't always split into 3, sometimes it's 1 or 2 or 4, so the shape of the flower is more important than how many are at the top.
VMS 90v2 is one of the more naturalistic VMS plants, and is drawn similarly to some of the medieval drawings of phu (which is not surprising since Phu has distinctive characteristics).
I blogged about it in 2013 (when there weren't as many medieval herbals available):
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
Actually, these drawings are a good representation of how people thought in the Middle Ages. The two top images are later ones, more naturalistic, the bottom ones are medieval and early Renaissance and somewhat more schematic. If you think of it in these terms... what are the most distinctive characteristics? then you can see that the drawings are created to emphasize the flowers and leaves (not to make them look "real"), which is what you look for in this specific plant.
Notice how the VMS is the only one that caught the nubby shapes at the base of the flower head (you can also see this in the later pic above it). This is why I love the VMS. It was someone who knew a few things about plants or, at the very least, was paying attention to some of the details that were not noticed or not considered important by most other plant illustrators at the time.
![[+]](https://www.voynich.ninja/images/collapse_collapsed.png)