The Voynich Botanical Plants

Folio 30v, Dodder (Cuscuta europaea), is a leafless, rootless, parasitic weed, of which four species are found in Northern Europe. It obtains water and nutrients by attaching itself to a suitable host, which in the case of the two drawings shown here appears to be a mint plant. The small white, pink, or yellow flowers occur in tight balls along the thread-like stem. Dodder’s selection of a host appears to be based on the smell of the volitile chemicals the host plant emits.