Many of the Shakespeare species are threatened today. Some will be no surprise: tigers, whales, elephants, leopards and lions, but did you know that Turtle Doves and European Eels are Critically Endangered and that Hedgehogs are Vulnerable in Britain. Read this short blog to find out more.

Chips & Sea Holly: the stuff of seduction. Falstaff asks for the heavens to open and rain aphrodisiacs on his head. This short blog explores the changing status of potatoes as an exotic luxury and the sea holly as a high status treat in Shakespeare’s world to their mundane and forgotten virtues in our world.

Shakespeare Tree Top Trumps: Cedar, Oak and Elder. Find out why the Cedar was so important in Shakespeare’s writing and how the Oak and Elder were rated in the Tudor world. #shakespearespecies #folio400 #nationaltreeweek

Shakespeare Nature Blogs. Willows and Violets: Sorrow & Hope. Willows always signify trouble in Shakespeare, sorrow or rejection. Violets are generally positive and hopefully. This blog explores the background to these cultural identities of willow and violet.

Shakespeare lived in a time of uneasy peace but peace none the less. His works contain powerful images of the destructiveness and chaos of war with metaphors taken from the natural world. Read this short blog to find out more about the nature of war and peace in Shakespeare.

Mary Golds were one of the Mary or Marian Flowers celebrating the Virgin Mary in Catholic practice and tradition. We usually call them Marigolds today. This blog explores the changing relationship with the natural world after the Protestant Reformation.

Shakespeare uses a diverse range of nature-based insults in his works. Falstaff is one of the main givers and receivers of insults but the Shakespearean insults are surprising in their diversity.

Birds are important symbolic metaphors in Shakespeare’s works and the Bible. This blog explores some of the history of bird symbolism in Catholic and Protestant traditions.

Shakespeare wrote about the risks and potential of wild places. This blog explores the wild places of the land and of the mind and how our relationship with the wild is changing.

The deliberate felling of the Sycamore tree on Hadrian’s Wall still has the power to shock us. Henry Bolingbroke, the future King Henry IV is also faced with the deliberate felling of his forests. This blog explores the power and symbolism of trees in Shakespeare’s works.