Re: Dana's Botany

[Dana Scott <dfscott@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Well, what you are asking for is certainly there. The plants can be definitely
be grouped into the two categories of European and non-European. Once all the
plants have been tentatively identified and classified based on place of origin,
then you will have an answer. That may take some time. I will try to start
specifying place of origin in the identifications that I make. There is then the
question of whether or not the scribe ventured out to actually collect the plant
specimens or whether they were brought to the scribe by eager collectors from
around the globe. Thank you for the suggestion. I hope that it will help. BTW, I
haven't seen much from the Western Hemisphere or the Pacific region as yet.
Mostly European, some South African, and possibly a couple of specimens from
Australia.

Regards,
Dana Scott

John Grove wrote:

> Actually, I was hoping to hear you say something like "All the plants in
> Group one are European" and "all the others are foreign to Europe" or
> something like that.... Sort of like Monty Python's answer to "What is the
> air speed velocity of an unladened swallow?"
>
> The list divisions were based solely on the possible contextual clues of
> Currier's A & B languages - but the result of this exercise may just be
> placing a little bias into the botanical identifications for the future.
>
> John.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Dana Scott" <dfscott@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: "John Grove" <John@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Cc: "VMS List" <voynich@xxxxxxxx>; <AFScott@xxxxxxx>
> Sent: Sunday, January 27, 2002 3:04 PM
> Subject: Re: Dana's Botany
>
> > Hello John,
> >
> >    Thank you for the two botanical lists that you put together here.
> Perhaps it
> > is time to start categorizing the plants as you suggest. A number of
> different
> > possibilities come to mind: monocotyledon, dicotyledon, medicinal (broken
> out
> > into subcategories based on treatment application), poisonous, cosmetic,
> > astrological, cosmological, sun plants, moon plants, world
> regions/climates,
> > culinary, botanical classification by Family, etc. I should probably also
> grade
> > the identifications (5 star rating) by level of confidence that the
> correct
> > identification has been made, matching correctly on flowers, leaves,
> stems,
> > roots, tubers, fruit, color (though I not convinced that the original
> author of
> > the VMS actually colored the plants). There is at least one indication
> that the
> > work done on the VMS may not have been completed (not all of the botanical
> > sprigs/snipets are labeled). I think for now that I would like to continue
> work
> > on identifying the botanical entries and I may start to
> classify/categorize the
> > plants which I can report on later.
> >
> > Regards,
> > Dana Scott
> >
> > John Grove wrote:
> >
> > > Good day everyone,
> > >
> > >     I'm curious if Dana's identifications divided into the two groups
> below
> > > could provide two categories...  Do all the items in each group have
> > > something in common within their group, but differ from the second group
> > > consistently(from a botanical standpoint)?
> > >
> > > First Group
> > > f01v - Atropa Belladonna
> > > f02r - Yellow Centaurea/Bachelor's Button
> > > f02v - Nymphoides
> > > f04v - Bluebell of Scotland
> > > f05v - Wild Strawberry/Paris(Trilliaceae)
> > > f06r - Philodendron
> > > f06v - Wooly Thistle
> > > f07v - Pulmonaria/Polygonum/Persicaria
> > > f08r - Tussilago farfara
> > > f09r - Botrychium multifidum
> > > f11r - Parsley
> > > f12v - Spiral Ginger
> > > f13r - Geranium
> > > f13v - Fuchsia
> > > f15r - Orchid Cactus
> > > f16r - Rumex crispus
> > > f17v - Wild Buckwheat
> > > f21r - Rupturewort
> > > f24r - Silene/Campion
> > > f25r - Mint
> > > f27v - French Marigold
> > > f30v - Meadowseet
> > > f32r - Lantana camara
> > > f37v - Kalanchoe
> > > f38v - Sempervivum
> > > f42r - Rumex acetosa
> > > f47r - Alchemilla vulgaris
> > > f47v - Arnica montana
> > > f51r - Henbane
> > > f54v - Bittersweet
> > > f87v - Senecio/Kleinia
> > > f90r - Rutabaga
> > > f93r - Protea/Helianthus
> > > f96v - Chenpodium
> > >
> > > Second Group
> > >
> > > f31v - Fernleaf Yarrow
> > > f33v - Pulicaria Dysenterica
> > > f34r - Astrantia major
> > > f34v - Tree of Life(or)Prunus
> > > f40v - Epiphyllum
> > > f46v - Feverfew
> > > f50r - Kalanchoe
> > > f55v - Veltheimia Bracteata
> > > f57r - Golden Flowered Henbane
> > > f94r - Botrychium lunaria
> > > f95r - Berberis
> > >
> > > John Grove.
> >
> >