The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Location
Particularly noted as growing in Ithilien
Species
Various shrubs and trees in the genus Tamarix
Meaning
From Latin tamariscus, of uncertain derivation1

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 30 December 2022
  • This entry is complete

Tamarisk

A kind of spreading flowering shrub or small tree that commonly grows in thickets. Also known as 'salt cedars', these plants are native to hotter and drier areas. Frodo and Sam found thickets of tamarisk among the many different varieties of herb and shrub that grew wild in Ithilien, but given the preference of these plants for drier conditions, it seems likely that Ithilien was in the northern part of their range in Middle-earth.2


Notes

1

The origins of the Latin name for this shrub are unclear. Some sources connect it with the Tambre river in northern Spain (which in classical times was known as Támaris, the 'great water'). Others suggest a link with Semitic languages, specifically via Hebrew tamar, 'palm tree'.

2

Though it seems extremely unlikely that tamarisk grew as far north as the Shire, it's implied that Sam recognised the plant (at least, it's described in a way that seems to suggest it fell within his considerable herb-lore). As a gardener, we'd expect Sam to have had a wide botanical knowledge, but it still seems slightly strange that a Hobbit who had never left the Shire should be familiar with a shrub from the arid southern lands. Perhaps tamarisk and other such plants had been brought northwards as exotic garden plants earlier in Middle-earth's history, and were still cultivated in parts of the north at the end of the Third Age.

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 30 December 2022
  • This entry is complete

For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page.

Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 2016, 2022. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ.

Website services kindly sponsored by myDISCprofile, the free online personality test.
Take the FREE myDISCprofile personality test to discover your core personality and your ideal job.
The Encyclopedia of Arda
The Encyclopedia of Arda
Menu
Homepage Search Latest Entries and Updates Random Entry