04-04-2019, 03:31 PM
Looking at the facsimilie, I can see that it's just brushwork. An initial O has been made, then a thick swipe of paint across. It may be that the illustrator started colouring it in vertically, them thought better of it and continued with horizontal swipes.
I notice that there are three other Latin letters clearly visible on this plant. On the right hand side we have an ornate initial F
On the left we have a CH (or CA), which is written 90º to the page (I have rotated this image to make it more visible)
Both of these letters, of course, have been noticed before but I mention them here for completeness sake, and because I don't remember any recent discussion about them.
I notice that there are three other Latin letters clearly visible on this plant. On the right hand side we have an ornate initial F
On the left we have a CH (or CA), which is written 90º to the page (I have rotated this image to make it more visible)
Both of these letters, of course, have been noticed before but I mention them here for completeness sake, and because I don't remember any recent discussion about them.