Vegetable Lamb of Tartary
The Vegetable Lamb of Tartary is a legendary zoophyte of Central Asia, once believed to grow sheep as its fruit. It was believed the sheep were connected to the plant by an umbilical cord and grazed the land around the plant. When all accessible foliage was gone, both the plant and sheep died.
Vegetable Lamb of Tartary
Fanciful depiction of cotton by John Mandeville, featuring sheep instead of cotton bolls.
An illustration of the specimen of the vegetable lamb, actually the rhizome of the fern Cibotium barometz, Hans Sloane included in a letter published in Philosophical Transactions, volume 20, in 1698.
A legendary creature is a type of fantasy entity, typically a hybrid, that has not been proven and that is described in folklore, but may be featured in historical accounts before modernity.
Several mythical creatures from Bilderbuch für Kinder (lit. 'picture book for children') between 1790 and 1822, by Friedrich Justin Bertuch
In classical mythology, the Minotaur was defeated by the hero Theseus.
Medieval bestiaries included mythical animals like the monoceros (above) alongside real animals like the bear.
Symbolic power: a dragon in the Imperial City, Huế, Vietnam
