Book Of Traceable Heraldic Art

Vegetable Lamb

See also: Vegetable lamb and Vegetable lamb in Pictorial Dictionary of Heraldry.

A mythical plant whose pods burst open to reveal tiny sheep. The legend may have originated with European misunderstanding of cotton, which produces bolls containing fluffy fibers that could be mistaken for lambs’ wool.

Source: The Vegetable Lamb of Tartary. Artist unknown. Based on a description by Sir John Mandeville in the 14th century.