The Voynich Botanical Plants

Folio 90v, Arugula or Rocket (Eruca vesicaria), a member of the cabbage family, has been grown in the Mediterranean area since Roman times. It has a slender taproot; stiff, erect, pubescent stem; coarsely toothed or lobed leaves; and creamy white, four-petal flowers with purple veins. The plant is considered to be an excellent stimulant and aphrodisiac and was used in a mixed salad by the early Romans. This folio illustrates the VM author’s prankish nature when he represented the roots of this plant as a headless cat.