dogberry

The berry of the dogwood.

Clintonia borealis (yellow clintonia)

A pompous, foolish or self-important official.

It would be interesting to know how many village Dogberries there were like Thomas Law, the constable of Quendon, Essex, whose reaction in 1651 on being informed of a robbery was to call on the astrologer, William Hills, ‘with an intent to hear what he might say, so that he might make his search accordingly’.