xiloxochitl (Mdz50r)

xiloxochitl (Mdz50r)
Element from a Compound

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description:

This element for the type of flower called xiloxochitl has been carved from the compound sign for the place name, Xiloxochitlan. This flower appears to grow on a tree. The tree has three branches, and the flowers have a green base, red petals, and small yellow balls curving across the top of the red petals.

Description, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis:

One other example of this flower in this digital collection (as of December 2023) appears in the compound glyph for the place name Xochiacan (see below).

Added Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript:

Mendoza/Mendocino, Codex (Mdz)

Date of Manuscript:

c. 1541, or by 1553 at the latest

Creator's Location (and place coverage):

Mexico City

Syntax:

noun(s)

Writing Features:

simplex or element as logogram

Cultural Content & Iconography:

Flowers

Plants, Flora

Cultural Content, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Colors:

Shapes and Perspectives:

circle(s) (small, often concentric)

tripartite

vertical, upright

Keywords:

ceibas, trees, silk-coton, flowers, flores

Glyph or Iconographic Image:

Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s):

xiloxochi(tl), the silk-cotton tree, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/xiloxochitl

Additional Scholars' Interpretations:

silk cotton tree

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation:

la ceiba

Spanish Translation, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Image Source:

Codex Mendoza, folio 50 recto, https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/2fea788e-2aa2-4f08-b6d9-648c00..., image 110 of 188.

Image Source, Rights:

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).