Re: VMS Botany

[pm232@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

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----------