Cibotium barometz, golden chicken fern, woolly fern, is a species of tree fern native to parts of China and to the western part of the Malay Peninsula

Malay Peninsula

The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...

. The fern's woolly rhizome

Rhizome

In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...

 was thought to be the inspiration for the mythical "Vegetable Lamb of Tartary

Vegetable Lamb of Tartary

The Vegetable Lamb of Tartary is a legendary zoophyte of central Asia, believed to grow sheep as its fruit. The sheep were connected to the plant by an umbilical cord and grazed the land around the plant...

".

Description and distribution

Cibotium barometz is in the fern

Fern

A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...

 family Dicksoniaceae

Dicksoniaceae

The Dicksoniaceae is a family of tropical, subtropical and warm temperate ferns. Most of the 5-6 genera in the family are terrestrial ferns or have very short trunks compared to tree ferns of the family Cyatheaceae. However, some of the larger species can reach several metres in height. A number of...

 and is one of a small number of tree fern species that Carl Linnaeus initially placed in the fern family Polypodiaceae

Polypodiaceae

Polypodiaceae is a family of polypod ferns, which includes more than 60 genera divided into several tribes and containing around 1,000 species. Nearly all are epiphytes, but some are terrestrial.-Description:...

 in his Species Plantarum

Species Plantarum

Species Plantarum was first published in 1753, as a two-volume work by Carl Linnaeus. Its prime importance is perhaps that it is the primary starting point of plant nomenclature as it exists today. This means that the first names to be considered validly published in botany are those that appear...

.

C. barometz is native to parts of China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 and to the western part of the Malay Peninsula

Malay Peninsula

The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...

. The plant grows only to a height of 1 m (3 ft), when erect, but is often prostrate, forming colonies of plants on open forest slopes and in disturbed areas. The frond

Frond

The term frond refers to a large, divided leaf. In both common usage and botanical nomenclature, the leaves of ferns are referred to as fronds and some botanists restrict the term to this group...

s are up to 3 m (10 ft) long. The sori

Sorus

A sorus is a cluster of sporangia .In fungi and lichens, the sorus is surrounded by an external layer. In some red algae it may take the form of a depression into the thallus....

 are marginal on the pinnules.

The species is a folk medicinal

Folk medicine

-Description:Refers to healing practices and ideas of body physiology and health preservation known to a limited segment of the population in a culture, transmitted informally as general knowledge, and practiced or applied by anyone in the culture having prior experience.All cultures and societies...

 herb in common use. It was thought to be the mythical "Vegetable Lamb of Tartary" during the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 due to the resemblance of its woolly rhizomes to a lamb. Although it is widely distributed, the plant has been extensively collected in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...

, causing the decline in the population size and number of individuals.