Hi Judith While agreeing with other posters on the name of the crop chou mollier I am wondering if your friend actually wrote * charmolar * rather tnan *charmolan* as you posted. It would sound about right Graham On Wednesday, 4 June 2014 Judith Harper <quester@orcon.net.nz> wrote Subject: [nz] Southland farm crop - charmolan? A friend writing about growing up in Southland many years ago and a wonderful holiday she had on a farm, notes the following - crops for the stock, like corn, turnips and *charmolan* (it can grow 5 to 6 foot high). *Charmolan* has a thick steam like sugar cane and when you peal the outer layer off it leaves a sweet, juicy, crisp centre. I don't know what this charmolan is and cannot find it in my dictionaries. Can anyone please confirm that the name is correct OR suggest what my friend may have been referring to. She was a child at the time and is just writing from memories of what she heard spoken. Many thanks Judith Harper