Purdue horticulture professor earns award for illuminating secrets of the Voynich manuscript

Story by Emma Ea Ambrose

March 18, 2020

Jules Janick, Purdue University’s James Troop Distinguished Professor of Horticulture, recently earned The American Botanical Council (ABC) James A. Duke Excellence in Botanical Literature Award for his 2019 book “Flora of the Voynich Codex: An Exploration of Aztec Plants.” Janick shares the award with his co-author, the late Arthur Tucker, emeritus herbarium director at Delaware State University.

The Voynich manuscript, a codex heavily illustrated with botanical illustrations that, until recently, was of ambiguous origin and language, had proved undecipherable to scholars for over a century.

In their 2018 book “Unraveling the Voynich Code,” Janick and Tucker establish that the manuscript dates from 16th-century Mexico, based on their analysis of the botanical drawings and maps contained in the book. The document was previously thought to have been a written product of 15th-century European botanists. This hypothesis is furthered in “The Flora of the Voynich Codex,” published by Springer, in which the authors elaborate on their identifications, linking the botanical illustrations to plants used in traditional herbal remedies by the Aztecs of southern Mexico in the 1500s.

“In “The Flora of the Voynich Codex,” identification [of the plants] was extended to 166 phytomorphs, all but one indigenous to the New World. It reinforced our mantra that there was no way that a manuscript with a sunflower and an armadillo could be a 15th-century European work (as both species are native to the Western Hemisphere),” Janick said. “The award is a final tribute to my dear friend and an indefatigable botanist."

According to Kenneth Teng, editor for Springer, this is the first and only publication to fully identify all plant species from the original Voynich manuscript, a feat which significantly fortifies the assertions Janick and Tucker made in “Unraveling the Voynich Code.”

Featured Stories

Food products from animals with heritable genetic modifications potential boon to producers, consumers and animals

Farmers have been improving the genetics of their animals for thousands of years through...

Anna Paltseva, clinical assistant professor of urban science in the agronomy department, sits outside of a greenhouse, holding her Urban Soils Guide.

Framework to expand engagement in urban areas

Urban soils are essential to building sustainable cities — from supporting green...

Farmer sentiment improves as long-term optimism outweighs tariff concerns

Farmer sentiment improved in April as producers expressed more optimism about current and future...

Revolutionizing waste: How black soldier flies transform food waste into sustainable solutions

With food waste being a growing problem around the world, finding innovative solutions is more...

Two women examine the ground near tomato plants

Small Farm Education Field Day will feature new research, demonstrations and Purdue experts

The Purdue Small Farm Education Field Day on July 24 will offer demonstrations and presentations...

Oseremi Olivia Jagbojo - Graduate Ag Research Spotlight

Growing up in bustling Lagos, Nigeria, the largest city in Africa, agriculture was the furthest...