Tolkien's Sonic Trees and Perfumed Herbs: Plant Intelligence in Middle-earth

Abstract

Real, imaginary, and semi-fictional plants populate J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. Some are vocal and menacing, while others are fragrant and therapeutic. The plants (or plant-like beings) that murmur, speak, or sing most commonly appear in the form of trees. A prominent example comes from 'The Fellowship of the Ring', in which the hobbit Frodo Baggins is put under a soporific spell in the Old Forest by the wrathful singing and chanting of Old Man Willow.1 In contrast to vocal trees, plants that cannot make sounds of their own volition tend to appeal strongly through smell. For instance, one of the most celebrated plants in Tolkien's cosmology is 'pipe-weed' or 'leaf', based on the botanical genus 'Nicotiana'. Hobbits were the first to smoke its burning leaves to relax their travel-worn bodies, heal injuries, promote clarity of mind, and foster conviviality. The inhabitants of the Middle-earth kingdom of Gondor called the herb 'sweet galenas' and esteemed the fragrance of its flowers but did not consume it like tobacco, as hobbits and, later, dwarves and wizards would.2