nopalli (FCbk8f50r)

nopalli (FCbk8f50r)
Iconography

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description:

This iconographic example, featuring prickly pear cactus (nopalli/nohpalli, also called tenochtli), is included in this digital collection for the purpose of making potential comparisons with related hieroglyphs. The term selected for this example comes from the keywords chosen by the team behind the Digital Florentine Codex and a reference to it in the accompanying text. This example shows three oval-shaped branches (called pencas in Mexican Spanish) from a nopal plant. Each one is partially covered in spines, which give it the prickly name. Such spines would be scraped off prior to eating this food. The context makes it clear that this is one of several edible greens for sale in the marketplace.

Description, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis:

This plant is central to Mexican identity, being a part of the story of the founding of Tenochtitlan, which is now Mexico City. The national flag features an eagle on a nopal cactus that comes from a compound hieroglyph that includes a stone in a phonetic role. Nopales are a key food in the Mexican diet. Both the prepared pencas and the fruits (nochtli, called tunas in Spanish) are considered delicacies. The cacti are also very prevalent in the landscape. The red dye called cochineal (nocheztli) derives from a parasite hosted by the pencas. It is lovely to find the personal name Nopal (below). The variation from tenoch- to teonoch- in some cases suggests a religious significance.

Added Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image:

Gloss Diplomatic Transcription:

nopalli

Source Manuscript:

Florentine/Florentinus, Codex (FC)

Date of Manuscript:

1577

Creator's Location (and place coverage):

Mexico City

Syntax:

noun(s)

Cultural Content & Iconography:

Food, Eating, Cooking

Markets, Commerce, Economy

Plants, Flora

Religion (Indigenous)

Cultural Content, Credit:

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors:

green (light)

Shapes and Perspectives:

frontal view

spiky

Keywords:

nopales, nopalitos, pencas, espinas

Glyph or Iconographic Image:

Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s):

nopal(li), or nohpalli with the glottal stop, prickly pear cactus, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/nopalli
tenoch(tli), nopal or prickly pear cactus, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tenochtli

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation:

el nopal

Spanish Translation, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Image Source:

Available at Digital Florentine Codex/Códice Florentino Digital, edited by Kim N. Richter and Alicia Maria Houtrouw, "Book 8: Kings and Lords", fol. 50r, Getty Research Institute, 2023. https://florentinecodex.getty.edu/en/book/8/folio/50r/images/0 Accessed 25 August 2025.

Image Source, Rights:

Images of the digitized Florentine Codex are made available under the following Creative Commons license: CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International). For print-publication quality photos, please contact the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana ([email protected]). The Library of Congress has also published this manuscript, using the images of the World Digital Library copy. “The Library of Congress is unaware of any copyright or other restrictions in the World Digital Library Collection. Absent any such restrictions, these materials are free to use and reuse.”

Historical Contextualizing Image: