Vanilla planifolia, the first Mesoamerican orchid illustrated, and notes on the de la Cruz-Badiano Codex

Authors

  • Luis Diego Gómez Academia Nacional de Ciencias, Costa Rica Apartado 676-2050, San Pedro, Costa Rica

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15517/lank.v8i3.18321

Keywords:

Vanilla, tlilxochitl, Codex de la Cruz-Badiano

Abstract

The Codex Barberini lat. 241 or Codex Badianus is a manuscript by Martín de la Cruz, entitled Libellus Medicinalibus Indorum Herbis and the first New World herbal, written in 1552. It includes 249 medicinal plants of which only 184 are illustrated. Among the plants depicted is tlilxochitl which is the Nahuatl name, even to this day, for Vanilla planifolia Andrews. Thus, the illustration of that plant in the Codex constitutes the first illustration of a Mesoamerican orchid done for European readers and antedates the publication of the genus and its species by two centuries. Some new historical aspects of the Codex are presented. 

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Published

2008-12-31

How to Cite

Gómez, L. D. (2008). Vanilla planifolia, the first Mesoamerican orchid illustrated, and notes on the de la Cruz-Badiano Codex. Lankesteriana: International Journal on Orchidology, 8(3). https://doi.org/10.15517/lank.v8i3.18321

Issue

2008: Lankesteriana: Volumen 8, Número 3

Section

Articles

License

According to the Open Access policy promoted by the University of Costa Rica, all the papers published by Lankesteriana are licensed under the Creative Commons copyright and can be downloaded free of charge. The journal holds copyright and publishing rights under the CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 CR license.

Before the publication of the materials submitted by the author(s) in LANKESTERIANA, the author(s) hereby assign all rights in the article to the Lankester Botanical Garden.