Object: Pear Tree

Pear Trees (Pyrus communis) were an important feature of Dutch orchards, and many were planted in New Amsterdam and throughout New Netherland. 

Petrus Stuyvesant planted a  Pear Tree on what eventually became the corner of 13th street and Third Avenue.    The story goes that Peter brought the sapling back from the Netherlands, and that it thrived!  Eventually, the city grew up around the fenced tree.  It bore flowers and continued to grow for more than 200 years.   When it was cut down, Theodore Roosevelt reserved a slice of the tree for the New York Historical Society, and the Society for the Daughters of Holland Dames also made a gift  to the NYHS of a frame made from its wood.

For a detailed article, read more here....https://www.nyhistory.org/blogs/the-stuyvesant-pear-tree-new-york-city-mourns-the-loss-of-its-oldest-living-thing

See Joel Grossman's work on plants in New Amsterdam here:  https://www.geospatialarchaeology.com/index.html 

See a detailed article on the archeology of plant life in New Amsterdam by Joel Grossman, PhD. here.  Courtesy of the Holland Society of New York.