the color blue-green, blue, or turquoise; a blue-green flower; the color dark green (see Karttunen); also, a person's name, whether just by itself or in compounds (e.g. Matlalacatl, Matlalihuitl)
Frances Karttunen follows Molina in defining matlalin as “the color dark green”: “This is attested in Z in matlalzahuatl (literally ‘green pox’) and possibly in Matlalpan, although the sense of the latter would be obscure from this gloss, which appears to have something to do with lowness of stature. Conceivably it is derived instead from tlalpan ‘on the ground'" (139).
But translators Dibble and Anderson translate matlalin as “blue” in the Florentine Codex, which notes that "its name comes from nowhere. It is the blossom of an herb, a blossom. This matlalin is blue and a little herb-green. It is very sound, firm, good, of good appearance, fresh green. It is fresh green, very fresh green. . . . / acan quizqui in itoca, xihuitl ixochyo, xochitl: inin matlali texotic, ihuan achi quiltic, cenca ixtlapalhui, ixchicactic, cualli, cualnezqui, celic, celic, celpatic. . . ." (Book 11: 240). Also, as published in the Digital Florentine Codex (Book 11, folio 209r), the color is explained at length as "intense blue; blue, light blue, blue-brown, blue-tinted..." but ends with this: "It becomes blue. It becomes green." which shows once again the way these colors can overlap. (quote and comment made here by SW)
The Badianus Ms. cites matlalxochitl (presumably the xochitl referred to in the Florentine?) as an element in a treatment for "heat" in the eyes (pl. 14, p. 218). The footnote for matlalxochitl glosses the term as "blue flower" identifies the plant as "the dayflower, Commelina, of which a number of species are found on the Mexican plateau. A native variant Nahuatl name for it is matlaliztic. Hernández refers to several varieties of matlalxochitl (pp. 383–4), but none of the illustrations resembles Commelina; thus the name must have been applied to several flowers of blue color" (219–20).
ytoca matlal = named Matlal (gender not clear) (Cuernavaca region, ca. 1540s)
In the hieroglyphs, matlal appears as a flower, sometimes with a blue or green color, or turquoise blue, as in the glyph for Matlaltepec in the Codex Coatlinchan.
Matlalihuitl is a man's name in the Matrícula de Huexotzinco, and it is expressed as a compound Nahuatl hieroglyph with a four-petaled flower and a feather next to it. These are not painted, however, so they are not helpful with regard to clarifying the color. They published in the Visual Lexicon of Aztec Hieroglyphs, ed. Stephanie Wood (Eugene, Ore.: Wired Humanities, 2020-present). (SW)
https://aztecglyphs.wired-humanities.org/content/matlalihuitl-mh518v
Also in the Matrícula de Huexotzinco, Matlalaca appears as a compound Nahuatl hieroglyph of man's name. It is expressed as a three- or four-petaled flower with tiny points of leaves showing between each petal and one or more reeds next to the flowers. One of these flowers has a beautiful turquoise blue color with a dark pink or red center. The other one is just a black-line drawing. These glyphs are published also in the Visual Lexicon of Aztec Hieroglyphs, ed. Stephanie Wood (Eugene, Ore.: Wired Humanities, 2020-present). (SW)
Also in the Matrícula de Huexotzinco, Matlalcoatl is a man's name expressed as a compound Nahuatl hieroglyph, this time featuring a three-petaled flower and a serpent next to the flower. It is just a black-line drawing. It is published in the Visual Lexicon of Aztec Hieroglyphs, ed. Stephanie Wood (Eugene, Ore.: Wired Humanities, 2020-present). (SW)
Finally, in the Matrícula de Huexotzinco, Matlaltzincatl is a man's ethnic name expressed as a simplex Nahuatl hieroglyph, this time featuring only a three-petaled flower, left uncolored. It is also published in the Visual Lexicon of Aztec Hieroglyphs, ed. Stephanie Wood (Eugene, Ore.: Wired Humanities, 2020-present). (SW)