cuauhcamotli (FCbk11f125v)

This iconographic example, featuring a cassava plant (cuauhcamotli, or cuauhcamohtli, with the glottal stop), is included in this digital collection for the purpose of making comparisons with related hieroglyphs. The term selected for this example comes from the text near the image in the Digital Florentine Codex. There is no gloss, per se. This example shows an orange, horizontal cassava root with attached stem and green leaves. Coming off this large root are smaller ones, some with some edible thickness, but the rest just hair-like roots. The text explains that this is edible and tastes something like another American root vegetable, the batata (sweet potato), which originated in the Amazon. The camote appears in a landscape setting. This setting, along with the shading that provides a three-dimensionality to the scene, reveal European artistic influence.