Vegetable Sheep

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‘Vegetable sheep’ were so named by early European settlers because of their woolly, sheep-like appearance. Several species of New Zealand alpine plants in two daisy genera: Raoulia and Haastia are referred to as ‘vegetable sheep’. These cushion plants are basically tightly compacted shrubs. The large Museum specimen is the Canterbury vegetable sheep (Raoulia eximia) (fresh weight: 61 kg) – the stems and leaves are so tightly packed they are quite firm to walk on.

Dr Lucy Cranwell (1907-2000) was an internationally renowned botanist and paleontologist who began her career at the Auckland Museum in 1929. Her first duties were to set up botanical displays in the new Auckland Domain building for which the vegetable sheep was especially collected. While at the Museum Lucy, often accompanied by her good botanical friend Lucy Moore (the ‘two Lucys’) botanised many inaccessible mountain tops, islands and coastal areas, and published their discoveries.

An important figure in Lucy’s early botanical career was Professor Arnold Wall (1869-1966), who first met the two Lucys' in 1930. He joined them on botanical tramps and published three poems involving Lucy Cranwell. Lucy also had a strong interest in marine algae, wrote 150 articles for the Auckland Star, instigated the very successful Auckland Museum native flower show, and collected over 4000 herbarium specimens. Her life-long study of fossil pollen began in 1935 and she went on to become internationally famous in this field. She moved permanently to America as a war bride in 1944 where she continued her work on Gondwanan pollen and Hawaiian peat right up until her death in Tucson Arizona. Obituary: www.rsnz.org/publish/nzjb/2000/32.pdf.

How they brought the good sheep from Torlesse to Christchurch

By Arnold Wall

The way was long, the wind was rough, the enterprise was parlous,
Upon the thrice-accursed screes and ridges of Mt Torlesse,
When five went forth to conquer and collect the great Raoulia,
Three of the genus Homo, and three of the genus Mulier.

A fierce nor’wester battered hard against the mountain faces,
High peaks were shifted on that day some distance from their bases,
The ancient rocks themselves were cowed and quivering like jellies,
We often could not stand, but moved, like armies, on our bellies.

Those damsels were not fragile things of porcelain or faience,
They resolutely followed up the rugged paths of science;
They bawled to one another and incurred some little odium,
By prating of Ranunculus, Pyhylachne, Lycopodium.

Long poles of mountain beech we bore, and in between them sacking,
A great ungodly pickaxe for the scrabbling and hacking,
And knapsacks, kodaks, provender, with heaving and with lugging;
Bowed down with burdens, up we strove, the lee of the spur always hugging.

We struggled up the mountain in a shocking ragged column,
Our speeches were infrequent, but were very loud in volume,
For though we yelled and roared as if our very throats would crack again,
As soon as words had left our lips the foul wind blew them back again.

Now to avoid the bullying blast, the tumult, and strepitus,
We sought to lunch in shelter, just behind a crag precipitous,
Unheeding Helichrysums, Epilobiums, and Geraniums,
We dropped our date stones and our crumbs on one another’s craniums.

From that high vantage we looked down on valleys, farms and stations,
The yellow foothills and the lines and squares of dark plantations;
Far off we saw the turquoise sea against the sky uptilted,
The roads, the rivers, and the hills, in dreamy purple melted.

The naughty plants were growing in the most exposed locality.
We labored sore an hour or more and courted dire fatality,
Before the monster yielded to our picking and our harrying;
We laid his carcase on the bier to start the dreadful carrying.

Then we drove forward, staggering, zigzagging and perspiring,
The ladies lent the willing hand, undaunted and untiring,
We crawled, we fell, and on the steepest pinches rather ran well,
And ever in the van were found Misses Moore and Cranwell.

We shed our gore, broke knees, and suffered bruises and abrasions,
Such as we’d not experienced on anterior occasions,
Grimly resolved we battled on with very frequent truces,
And ever in the van were found the inimitable Lucies.

Upon the narrowest col of all a gust came good and hearty,
And dashed upon the cruel stones the whole devoted party.
Our playful foe grinned horribly as to our cries he harkened,
With hat and scarves and haversacks the very air was darkened.

We toiled and spelled and toiled, our ponderous burden hating
And nearer, ever nearer, grew the car beneath us waiting,
Till arching, gasping, gibbering, some wheezing and some grumphing,
Upon the grass beside the Pass we laid him down triumphing.