[Book] Prof. Eleonora Matarrese * Nymðe - The Unearthing

[Jorge_Stolfi]

The greater problem here is the illustration of the roots which look like a pair of wings

It just hit me that the roots of most or all plants in the Herbal section may be later additions.  They are usually squashed against the bottom edge of the panel, with no blank margin, and their style seems to be more crude than the rest of the plants. 

So perhaps the original drawings had no roots, or maybe sometimes only the top part of the root.  And later someone added the roots, perhaps because otherwise the VMS would seem to be inferior to all other European herbals (and "alchemical hebals") which showed the roots.

All the best, --jorge