xochitl (Mdz44r)
This element for flower (xochitl) was carved from the compound glyph for Macuilxochic. It is an upright flower in multiple colors. The root and the central part of the flower are red. A circular band at the base of the flower, perhaps the ovary, is turquoise, with a red-colored concentric circle, perhaps the ovule. Above that are the style, stigma, and two anthers in yellow. Surrounding these yellow parts are perhaps the sepals, colored green.
Stephanie Wood
This sign is especially detailed and colorful when compared to a great many xochitl glyphs. The attention to detail and color attest to the high value placed on flowers. The two small circles at the top of this flower, the leaves, and the roots are all hallmarks that will recur with some frequency, but, naturally, this element can also be abbreviated in some compound glyphs (e.g. the example, below, from 23 recto), and it will absorb European depictions of flowers (emphasizing stem, leaves, and largely round flowers) over time. Prior to contact, flowers appeared on temples and palaces, they were cultivated in gardens (showing horticultural expertise), they were associated with a ritualized warfare, worn as necklaces and garlands, and, for these reasons and more, they were the subject of poetry. Mexicolore has a short article about the Nahuas' fondness for flowers.
Stephanie Wood
c. 1541, or by 1553 at the latest
Stephanie Wood
Crystal Boulton-Scott made the SVG.
flowers, blooms, petals, roots, flores, pétalos, raíces
xochi(tl), flower or flowers, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/xochitl
la flor
Stephanie Wood
Codex Mendoza, folio 44 recto, https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/2fea788e-2aa2-4f08-b6d9-648c00..., image 98 of 188.
The Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford, hold the original manuscript, the MS. Arch. Selden. A. 1. This image is published here under the UK Creative Commons, “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License” (CC-BY-NC-SA 3.0).
