Matching Plant Images Internally

[Mark Knowles]

I would describe this example as not comparable.
On one side there is a root with three fingers, on the other side there are three roots of plants forming a group. I do not see any correspondence here.

It is certainly understandable why someone would think these two drawings are not a match. And indeed they may well not be a match.

So why have I matched them? Because starting with the drawing of the root I looked through all the plant drawings to find the one that I thought most similar or most reminiscent and I felt that the herbal drawing stood out. I think one's attitude about the type of artistic representation that the author is employing is important; whether scientific/botanical accuracy or symbolic representation. I match these two, because from the comparison of the illustrations I think it quite probable or possible, though clearly not certain, that the artist was trying to represent the same plant. I certainly prefer to include this possible match in my list than to ignore it, that is why I chose to include it. There are other potential matches that I chose not include as I felt I could not justify to myself so doing.