- IDENTIFICATION OF PHYTOMORPHS IN THE VOYNICH CODEX 15
clasping base of the petiole or ridges along the stem. Roots are multi-
ple, primary, and unbranched. The best match is sunflower,Helianthus
annuusL. (Figs. 1.9b and 1.9c). This identification was first made by
Hugh O’Neill (1944), plant taxonomist and Curator of the Catholic Uni-
versity herbarium (LCU), who confirmed the determination with six
botanists.
Lincoln Taiz (Taiz and Taiz 2011), emeritus plant physiologist at
University of California, Santa Cruz, confirms the resemblance, while
Helianthusauthorities Robert Bye (personal communication, 2014),
distinguished ethnobotanist at Universidad Nacional Autonoma de ́
Mexico (UNAM) in Mexico City, and Billie Turner (personal communi- ́
cation, 2014), one of the world’s leading experts on Mexican Asteraceae
and former Curator of the Herbarium (TEX) of the University of Texas
at Austin, also confirm this identification. Sunflower researcher Jessica
Barb (personal communication, 2015) of Iowa State University notes
that inbred lines of sunflower have very short petioles (see Fig. 1.9c),
and that leaf variation is quite high.
The preponderance of evidence points to Mexico as the center of
domestication for sunflower (Harter et al. 2004; Heiser 2008; Lentz et al.
2008a, 2008b; Rieseberg and Burke 2008; Bye et al. 2009; Blackman
et al. 2011; Moody and Rieseberg 2012). In Mexico, names in period
literature forH. annuusarechilamacatl(Sahagun 1963), ́ chimalacatl
orchimalacaxochitl(Hernandez 1942; Sahag ́ un 1963), and ́ chimalatl
peruina(Hern ́andez et al. 1651), all Nahuatl names. Additional Nahu-
atl names areacahualli(Ram ́ırez and Alcocer 1902; Dressler 1953) and
chimalxochitl(Zepeda and White 2008).
- Fol. 13r.Petasitessp., cf.P. frigidusvar.palmatus(Fig. 1.10).Based
on the asterid inflorescence, large cleft orbicular leaves, and relatively
large root system, Fig. 1.10a is most probably aPetasitessp. The closest
match might beP. frigidus(L.) Fr. var.palmatus(Aiton) Cronquist, the
western sweet-coltsfoot (Fig. 1.10b). This is native to North America
from Canada to California.Petasitesspp. are used as antiasthmatics,
antispasmodics, expectorants, and in salve or poultice form (Bayer et al.
2006). - Fol. 33v.Psacaliumsp.?Pippenaliasp.? (Fig. 1.11). This phy-
tomorph (Fig. 1.11a) has lobed peltate leaves and fleshy, round
subterranean tubers. The inflorescence is characteristic of the tribe
Heliantheae, and the “achenes” or cypselae are round and naked, a rare
feature in the Asteraceae family. This illustration is a conundrum. The
leaves and tubers suggestPsacaliumsp., possiblyP. peltigerum(B.L.