Raoulia eximia
Common names
vegetable sheep
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledonous composites
Detailed description
Stock very stout, woody; branches woody below, very densely compacted, forming rounded cushions up to 1 m or more diameter, up to 1 m tall. Leaves densely imbricate, 3.0-4.0 × up to 1.5 mm, 1-nerved, obovate- to oblong-spathulate to narrow-oblong, rounded at apex; apical portion on both surfaces with dense brush of long straight hairs exceeding and obscuring outline of lamina; ventral surface glabrous below; dorsal surface clad in ascending straight hairs. Capitula c.3 mm diameter. Inner series of involucral bracts linear, 3-4 mm long, scarious on margins, pilose in upper portion, tips not white, not radiating. Florets 10-15 or more. Achenes hardly 1 mm long, clad in long silky hairs; pappus-hairs rigid
Distribution
Endemic. South Island - mostly east of the main divide from Marlborough to northern Southland
Habitat
Subalpine to alpine. In rocky ground such as scree and talus slopes, cliff faces and boulder falls and in fellfield
Current conservation status
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2023 | Not Threatened
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Synonyms
Haastia greenii Hook.f.; Psychrophyton eximium Beauverd
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
Yes
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
November - January
Fruiting
January - April
Propagation technique
Difficult - should not be removed from the wild
Other information
Where To Buy
Not commercially available.
Etymology
raoulia: Named after Étienne Fiacre Louis Raoul (23 July 1815–30 March 1852) who was a French naval surgeon and naturalist. He published a book Choix de plantes de la Nouvelle-Zélande (“Selected plants of New Zealand”) in 1846. The genus was named after him by Joseph Hooker.
eximia: Strikingly unusual
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
RAOEXI
Chromosome number
2n = 28
Previous conservation statuses
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2017 | Not Threatened
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Regional conservation statuses
The regional threat classification system leverages off the national assessments in the NZTCS, providing information relevant for the regional context. Otago conservation status information is sourced from the “Regional conservation status of indigenous vascular plants in Otago” Jarvie S et al. (2024) report.
Otago: 2024 | At Risk – Regionally Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: DPR, DPS, DPT, NR, NS, Sp
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Allan, H.H. 1961: Flora of New Zealand. Vol. I, Government Printer, Wellington.
Attribution
Description adapted from Allan (1961).
Some of this factsheet information is derived from Flora of New Zealand Online and is used under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand licence.