PEAR
Plants, Fruit, Pear Seona Anderson Plants, Fruit, Pear Seona Anderson

PEAR

Shakespeare Species Pear: they would whip me with their fine wits till I were as crestfallen as a dried pear. Another of Falstaff's vivid fruit based images.

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QUINCE
Plants, Quince, Fruit, Orchard Seona Anderson Plants, Quince, Fruit, Orchard Seona Anderson

QUINCE

Shakespeare Species Quince: I will get Peter Quince to write a ballad of this dream. Quinces were popular fruits in Shakespeare’s world but are much less common in British orchards and gardens today.

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DAMSON
Plants, Trees, Damson, Fruit Seona Anderson Plants, Trees, Damson, Fruit Seona Anderson

DAMSON

Shakespeare Species Damson: my wife desired some damsons and made me climb, with danger of my life. Damsons, along with Plums, Greengages, Bullaces and Sloes are still valued for their fruits.

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MULBERRY
Plants, Trees, Mulberry, Fruit Seona Anderson Plants, Trees, Mulberry, Fruit Seona Anderson

MULBERRY

Shakespeare Species Mulberry: Now humble as the ripest mulberry that will not hold the handling. Black Mulberry was being grown in Britain by the mid 16th century. The native range is unclear because it has been cultivated in many countries since antiquity for fruit.

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PLUM
Plants, Plum, Trees, Fruit Seona Anderson Plants, Plum, Trees, Fruit Seona Anderson

PLUM

Shakespeare Species Plum: the mellow plum doth fall, the green sticks fast. Shakespeare includes several references to Plums and Prunes, as food as also as metaphors.

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PEACH
Plants, Fruit, Peach Seona Anderson Plants, Fruit, Peach Seona Anderson

PEACH

Shakespeare Species Peach: how many pair of silk stockings thou hast - with these, and those that were peach-coloured. Shakespeare twice uses Peach as a colour of silk cloth.

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GOOSEBERRY
Plant, Fruit, Gooseberry Seona Anderson Plant, Fruit, Gooseberry Seona Anderson

GOOSEBERRY

Shakespeare Species Gooseberry: all the other gifts appurtentant to man… are not worth a gooseberry. Falstaff, the great giver and receiver of insults often uses nature based imagery.

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CHERRY
Plant, Trees, Fruit, Cherry Seona Anderson Plant, Trees, Fruit, Cherry Seona Anderson

CHERRY

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, CHERRY: O, how ripe in show thy lips, those kissing cherries, tempting grow. Cherries symbolising lips is a regular image in Shakespeare’s works.

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BLOSSOM
Trees, Blossom, Fruit Seona Anderson Trees, Blossom, Fruit Seona Anderson

BLOSSOM

Shakespeare Species, BLOSSOM: But, poor, old man, thou prun’st a rotten tree which cannot so much as a blossom yield. Blossom, the act of blooming or the flowers of trees including fruit trees, symbolises youth, the promise of fruifulness, innocence and beauty.

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MEDLAR
Trees, Fruit, Medlar, Food Seona Anderson Trees, Fruit, Medlar, Food Seona Anderson

MEDLAR

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, MEDLAR: you’ll be rotten ere you be half ripe, that is the right virtue of the medlar. Medlars were a popular fruit of Shakespeare’s world but they have fallen out of fashion.

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GRAPES
Fruit, Food, Drink, Alcohol Seona Anderson Fruit, Food, Drink, Alcohol Seona Anderson

GRAPES

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, GRAPES: who would for one sweet grape the vine destroy? Read more about grapes, wine and the ecology of vines in Shakespeare’s England and modern Britain.

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DATES
Trees, Fruit, Dates Seona Anderson Trees, Fruit, Dates Seona Anderson

DATES

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, DATES: your date is better in your pie and your porridge than in your cheek. Dates were used in a range of sweet and savoury foods in Shakespeare’s work and also for punning. Read more about the ecology and history of dates.

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ORANGE
Trees, Fruit, Orange Seona Anderson Trees, Fruit, Orange Seona Anderson

ORANGE

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, ORANGE: You wear out a good forenoon in hearing a cause between an orange-wife and a forset-seller. Read more about the ecology of Oranges and their place in Elizabethan England.

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FIG
Trees, Fruit, Fig Seona Anderson Trees, Fruit, Fig Seona Anderson

FIG

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, FIG: O, excellent! I love long life more than figs. Read this short blog about the ecology and use of Figs in Shakespeare.

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APPLE
Fruit, Trees, Apple Seona Anderson Fruit, Trees, Apple Seona Anderson

APPLE

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, APPLE: An evil soul producing holy witness is like a villain with a smiling cheek, a goodly apple rotten at the heart.

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