HEMP
Plants, Hemp, Practical Plants Seona Anderson Plants, Hemp, Practical Plants Seona Anderson

HEMP

Shakespeare Species Hemp: play upon your fancies and in them behold, upon the hempen tackle shipboys climbing. Hemp was an important fibre plant for textiles and ropes and well as for the hangman’s noose. It was also called Gallows Grass.

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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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CHAMOMILE
Plants, Chamomile Seona Anderson Plants, Chamomile Seona Anderson

CHAMOMILE

Shakespeare Species Chamomile: for the chamomile, the more it is trodden on, the faster it grows. Falstaff uses the knowledge of Chamomile growth to give advice to the young Prince Hal.

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RHUBARB
Plants, Rhubard, Medicine Seona Anderson Plants, Rhubard, Medicine Seona Anderson

RHUBARB

Shakespeare Species Rhubarb: What rhubarb, senna or what purgative drug would scour these English hence? Macbeth considered Rhubarb a powerful medicinal purgative rather than a delicious pudding. Some people might still agree with this assessment.

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BAY
Plants, Garden Plants, Bay, Herb Seona Anderson Plants, Garden Plants, Bay, Herb Seona Anderson

BAY

Shakespeare Species Bay: Stage Directions Vision; six personages clad in white robes, wearing on their heads garlands of bays. The Bay or Laurel has been a symbol of victory or celebration for millennia as well as being an important food and medicine.

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STREAKED GILLYVOR
Plants, Gillyvor, Streaked Gillyvor Seona Anderson Plants, Gillyvor, Streaked Gillyvor Seona Anderson

STREAKED GILLYVOR

Shakespeare Species Streaked Gillyvor: the fairest flowers o’ th’ season are our carnations and streaked gillyvors. Carnations and Gillyflowers of different varieties were high status plants and in this quote Perdita questions the process of interfering with nature to produce different varieties.

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PINK
Plants, Pink Seona Anderson Plants, Pink Seona Anderson

PINK

Shakespeare Species Pink: I am the very pink of courtesy. “Pink” for the flower. Pinks are beautiful wild and garden Carnations.

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Lark’s Heel
Plants, Lark's Heel Seona Anderson Plants, Lark's Heel Seona Anderson

Lark’s Heel

Shakespeare Species Lark’s Heel: Lark’s heels trim: all dear Nature’s children sweet lie ‘fore bride and bridegrooms feet. Lark’s Heels is probably Larks Spur a popular garden plant.

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FUMITORY
Plants, Weeds, Fumitory Seona Anderson Plants, Weeds, Fumitory Seona Anderson

FUMITORY

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, FUMITORY: crowned with rank fumiter and farrow weeds. King Lear crowns himself with weeds rather than crops or high status flower as an indication of his mental state.

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DOCKS
Plants, Weeds, Docks Seona Anderson Plants, Weeds, Docks Seona Anderson

DOCKS

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, DOCKS: nothing teems but hateful docks, rough thistles, kecksies, burr. The Dock is one of the most successful colonisers of unmanaged ground and hence a hated weed of Shakespeare’s world.

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