[Imagery] The root of the plant at the top right of f89r1 is animal-shaped

[-JKP-]

Statement: The root of the plant at the top right of You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. was drawn to suggest an elongated animal with forked tail. 

Explanation: The head of the animal is represented in profile, in the upper part of the root. An eye and the mouth were drawn. The base of the stem of the plant corresponds to the mouth of the animal.

Because the animal is mostly recognizable in the upper part of the root, I'm not sure it's an animal with a forked tail. It's possible the end of the "tail" simply represents a root.

I'll agree that the upper part resembles an animal. Serpents were often drawn this way in the middle ages, although it's hard to tell for certain if a serpent/dragon were intended.


If it is a serpent or dragon, it's still hard to determine what it means. A serpent in a plant drawing had a wide variety of meanings. It could refer to the plant name (e.g., serpentina), it could mean the plant was good for snake bite, it could mean the plant was poisonous, or it could mean that there was a kind of snake with a name that was alphabetically next to the name of the plant, just as a goose might be drawn after a picture of a gallium plant.