Colorization - what was it's purpose?

[MarcoP]

A question to which I don't have the answer: do medieval herbal texts mention the colours of the plants, in particular also flowers? The answer to this will indicate (at least to some extent) how 'important' the colours were.

Hi Rene,
In the Pseudo-Apuleius transcription by Pradel-Baquerre You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., there seem to only be a few references to colors (a simple search finds ~10, but I am certainly missing some). A few of these distinguish different varieties of the plant listed in a single paragraph.

Examples:

L. HERBA GRIAS
Nascitur in Lucania, marmoris albi colorem habet, quattuor rubicundis ornata culiculis.

XCIII. HERBA PVLEIVM
A Graecis dicitur glicon.
Puleium quam uim medicamenti se cum habet, multi ignorant. Duo enim genera sunt, masculus et femina. Masculus florem album habet, femina rubeum siue purpureum.

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In You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. Egerton 747 I find many more occurrences (~100).

357. DE PAPAVERE    PAPAVER frigide et sicce complexionis est. Cuius triplex est maneries: est enim album quod frigidum et humidum, et nigrum quod frigidum et siccum, et rubeum quod florem habet rubeum ...

506. DE VIRGA PASTORIS    VIRGA PASTORIS frigida est et sicca in initio tertii gradi. Solum folia medicine competunt et viridia et sicca. Per annum servatur. Viridia tamen sunt maioris efficacie. Virtutem habet constringendi et replendi et infrigidandi. …. Virga pastoris herba est frondes et ramos habens super terram exspansos, virides in estate et in hieme, florem habet album subtilem ut calamum. Radix est rubea, aliquantulum nigra.

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We don’t have a full transcription of Trinity O.2.48, but it seems that the non-Apuleius paragraphs usually mention the color of flowers and other parts of the plants.

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In You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. I find a few references to colors, but they describe ingredients or conditions, not plant parts (e.g. “cera alba” “si quis haberet oculos rubeos”)