Edith Sherwood Ph.D. and Erica Sherwood

The Voynich Botanical Plants

Folio 41v Back to Plant List
folio 41v

Folio 41v, Coriander or Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum), is native to Asia and North Africa. Its seeds were found in the tomb of Tutankhamun. The plant was cultivated by the Greeks in the second millennium BC and the Romans introduced the herb into Britain. Coriander has a taproot and the leaves at the base of the plant are broadly lobed becoming more feathery higher up, with umbels of white to pale pink flowers at the top of the stem. Coriander seed and leaf were very widely used in medieval cuisine.