Re: VMS Botany

["Dana F. Scott" <dfscott@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello Philip,
     Thank you for your comments. If you do manage to view the VMS then you
will have a unique opportunity to see the drawings in color. Black and white
copies do limit our skills of observation. I am thankful for the samples in
color that are available on the Internet but I feel that we are somewhat
restricted without full color copies of the VMS.

Regards,
Dana Scott

pm232@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> I'm not familiar with f25r, but my undergraduate training was in botany
> and I must point out that Triadenum virginicum (formerly Hypericum
> virginicum and commonly called "marsh St. John's wort") is native to
> eastern North America only. The plant on f25r may very well be Triadenum
> virginicum, but if it were it would carry all the implications of Hugh
> O'Neill's sunflower and Capsicum ids. Triadenum virginicum is indeed
> considered medicinal -- it is one of the "St. John's worts" sold as
> antidepressants. I'm currently a grad student at Yale, living three
> blocks away from Beinecke, and I hope to get a look at the VMS "in
> person" in the next week or two. I'll report back on what it looks like
> to me.
>
> -Philip Marshall
>
> ---------Included Message----------
> >Date: Sat, 03 Feb 2001 19:11:24 -0800
> >From: "Dana F. Scott" <dfscott@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> >Reply-To: "Dana F. Scott" <dfscott@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> >To: <voynich@xxxxxxxx>, <AFScott@xxxxxxx>
> >Subject: VMS Botany
> >
> >Without having direct knowledge of which plants were used for the
> >botanical drawings in VMS it is certainly a very challenging task to
> >make accurate identifications when compared to today's available
> >specimens; however, there is value, I think, in making at least a best
> >guess comparison or finding a close approximation. What makes this
> >particular folio very difficult to identify is that I imagine that
> there
> >are probably numerous other examples of plants that look quite a bit
> >like this drawing. While you may not all have access to f25r in the
> VMS,
> >here is a picture of the plant called TRIADENUM VIRGINICUM which
> appears
> >to be a very close match to f25r. Unfortunately, the base and roots of
> >the plant cannot be seen in this picture, but I am impressed by the
> fact
> >that  the leaves even seem to be oriented as drawn in the VMS.
> >
> >http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/dcs420/a/hdw23109902s.jpg
> >
> >Regards,
> >Dana Scott
> >
> ---------End of Included Message----------

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