There’s a controversy brewing over whether it is Shakespeare or Drake holding an ear of maize on the frontispiece of Gerard’s Herbal. But what I really want to know is what’s that other thing in his right hand.
Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog
Agrobiodiversity is crops, livestock, foodways, microbes, pollinators, wild relatives …
There’s a controversy brewing over whether it is Shakespeare or Drake holding an ear of maize on the frontispiece of Gerard’s Herbal. But what I really want to know is what’s that other thing in his right hand.
Fritillaria meleagris ?
Dear Luigi, yes it’s Fritillaria meleagris L., or fritillary, as Camille correctly commented. In fact, the landscape flower of Uppland where Linnaeus was active (Uppsala and Hammarby).