Lungwort (Pulmonaria) is one of the most distinctive plants that has spots (and it's a medicinal plant represented in many herbals) but there are other plants, like lilies, that also have spots and which are also commonly included in medieval manuscripts.
When Pulmonaria first blooms, the tips of the petals may be lighter, but once they are in full bloom some are pink and some are blue. I have it in my garden. It's a handsome semi-shade plant and grows in the same part of the property as Lunaria (the real one, not the mythical one
).
In medieval times, dots were sometimes also used symbolically to represent other things, like plants with fine hairs on the leaves. Notice how the VMS plant that resembles amaranth also has dots (this time around the edges rather than along the vein) even though amaranth is not distinctive for having dots. It's the colors and and long flower spikes that make amaranth stand out.
So... the dots might mean dots on the plant (it could be something like Pulmonaria) or it might mean hairs or small spiny protrusions (like one finds on young Lactuca plants) or something else.
When Pulmonaria first blooms, the tips of the petals may be lighter, but once they are in full bloom some are pink and some are blue. I have it in my garden. It's a handsome semi-shade plant and grows in the same part of the property as Lunaria (the real one, not the mythical one
).In medieval times, dots were sometimes also used symbolically to represent other things, like plants with fine hairs on the leaves. Notice how the VMS plant that resembles amaranth also has dots (this time around the edges rather than along the vein) even though amaranth is not distinctive for having dots. It's the colors and and long flower spikes that make amaranth stand out.
So... the dots might mean dots on the plant (it could be something like Pulmonaria) or it might mean hairs or small spiny protrusions (like one finds on young Lactuca plants) or something else.