Was the VM a failure?

[ReneZ]

There are of course exceptions to every 'generic' statement, but indeed, it is not unusual at all that plants are hard to identify. 

Other things are unusual, first of all that the drawings are all original, i.e. not copies from any other known herbal. (But the Voynich MS is not unique in that respect). The emphasis on roots is a bit unusual, and perhaps also the fact that some aspects were undoubtedly drawn from nature. That is something that just started to happen around the time of the Voynich MS.

To me, the many illustrations are a clear sign that the MS was meant to be special.
 

Maybe people were merrily reading it for over a century, when it was still in its original environment.

I just can't see any chance of that being the case....