- IDENTIFICATION OF PHYTOMORPHS IN THE VOYNICH CODEX 27
(a) (b)(c)Fig. 1.22. Ipomoea nil: (a) fol. 57r; (b and c) flowers and leaves ofI. nil(Courtesy of Rare
and Exotic Seeds and ghost32writer.com, respectively).
(Figs. 1.23a and 1.23b) are all good fits for most probablyIpomoea
pubescensLam., silky morning-glory (Fig. 1.23c). This vine is native
from Arizona and New Mexico to Mexico, and also in Bolivia, Peru,
and Argentina. This phytomorph is also repeated on fol. 101v(3) #2 of
the Voynich Codex. Species ofIpomoeaare known for their resin glyco-
sides and use to counter several diseases (Pereda-Miranda et al. 2010;
Batres et al. 2012; Meira et al. 2012).
M. Dioscoreaceae
- Fol. 17v.Dioscorea composita(Fig. 1.24).Most probably this phyto-
morph (Fig. 1.24a) isDioscorea compositaHemsl., barbasco (Fig. 1.24b).
This is native from southern Mexico to Costa Rica. The roots (Fig. 1.24c)
are quite often segmented, as shown in the Voynich Codex, and a major
source of diosgenin. The flowers, yellow when fresh but rust-colored
upon drying, and borne on a vine fit rather well, but the phytomorph is
shown with leaves more hastate thanD. compositanormally exhibits.