Can it be done without a "Rosetta Stone"?

[Diane]

Thomas,

The botanical imagery may confuse modern viewers; I see no reason why it should have presented a problem for the original enunciator and his peers.  It's simply a method for condensing information about given groups of plants - from what I've found, each group is classed by similar form and purpose, and being found together in a particular region.

Composite plant imagery was very common, even in the Mediterranean, before Dioscorides' time. If you imagine each as a still-life sans vase, it should give a sense of the informing idea.