Story: Alpine plants

Stewart Island vegetable sheep

Stewart Island vegetable sheep

Vegetable sheep are compact daisy shrubs that form thick hummocks up to a metre in diameter. The hummock consists of closely packed shoots and leaves. From a distance some of them resemble the shape and colour of sheep, as their leaves are covered in woolly hairs. The bright green Stewart Island vegetable sheep (Raoulia goyenii) is less likely to be mistaken for the animal.

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Photograph by Carl Walrond

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How to cite this page:

Hugh Wilson, 'Alpine plants - Alpine rock vegetation', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/11033/stewart-island-vegetable-sheep (accessed 19 March 2024)

Story by Hugh Wilson, published 24 Sep 2007