History of Monsters. 670. Ulisse Aldrovandi

I. A human likeness in the root of a certain plant, depicted from the front and the back.

Nature repeatedly fashions likenesses not only of humans but also of other things within roots and plants, displaying them to those who collect and examine monstrous roots. Today, there is preserved in the Museum of the Most Illustrious Senate of Bologna a *rhiza ophiodes*, that is, a serpent-shaped root, which skillfully mimics the form of a snake. For this reason, it may quite rightly be called a serpent-like image carved into a root by Nature, as is shown in illustration II.

Nor do we wish to overlook the *ophiphyton* or *ophixylon* branch, which was presented to the celebrated Ulisse Aldrovandi as a true wonder. For this reason, it has been sket