- IDENTIFICATION OF PHYTOMORPHS IN THE VOYNICH CODEX 7
(a) (b)Fig. 1.1. Ophioglossum palmatum: (a) fol. 100v #5; (b)O. palmatum(Courtesy of Robbin
Moran, New York Botanical Garden).
moonwort, in the Voynich Codex on fol. 100v. However, O’Neill did
not designate the phytomorph number, only the folio number, but only
#5 would match with a member of the Ophioglossaceae. The fronds
with both a fertile and a sterile portion, the fertile portion, bladelike
and palmately lobed into multiple segments (Fig. 1.1a), suggest instead
a specimen of the eusporangiate fernOphioglossum palmatumL. The
photograph of this species (Fig. 1.1b) confirms the identification. This
species is epiphytic in dense, wet forests at low to middle elevations
from Florida to Brazil (Mickel and Smith 2004).
B. Gymnosperm: Taxodiaceae
- Fol. 100r #15.Taxodiumsp., cf.T. mucronatum(T. huegelii,T. mex-
icanum)? (Fig. 1.2).This phytomorph (Fig. 1.2a) is very crude but
appears to be either the cones or whole plant outlines of the Mexican
cypress,Taxodium mucronatumTen. (T. huegeliihort. ex P. Lawson &
C. Lawson;T. mexicanumCarriere). The cones and forked tree trunk of`
T. mucronatumare shown (Figs. 1.2b and 1.2c). This species is often
multi-trunked in older specimens, for example, The Tule Tree, or El
Arbol del Tule on the grounds of a church in Santa Mar ́ ́ıa del Tule in
the Mexican state of Oaxaca, ca. 2000 years old. The Nahuatl name for
T. mucronatumisahoehoetl/aueuetl/ahuehuetl,ahuehuecuahuitl,or
ahuehuete/ahuehuetl(Hernandez et al. 1651; Hern ́ andez 1942; Dressler ́
1953; D ́ıaz 1976; Farf ́an and Elferink 2010).