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Flora of Middle-Earth

Plants of J.R.R. Tolkien's Legendarium

Walter S Judd author Graham A Judd author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Oxford University Press Inc

Published:12th Oct '17

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Flora of Middle-Earth cover

The book considers the importance of plants in Tolkien's conception of Middle-earth. It develops the theme that Middle-earth is our own world - and will awaken the reader to the connection between the plants of Tolkien's legendarium and those growing in our gardens and local natural areas of the Northern Hemisphere. It also demonstrates the connection between the various plant communities of Middle-earth and the elven and human cultures that occupy them, including those environments degraded by warfare, industrialization or pollution. The heart of the book is an alphabetical listing, arranged by common names, of all of the plants mentioned in Tolkien's legendarium; for each of these plants the treatment will include: 1) common and scientific name, along with an indication of the family to which the plant belongs, 2) a brief quote from one of Tolkien's works in which the plant is referenced, 3) a discussion of the significance of the plant in the context of Tolkien's legendarium, 4) the etymology relating to both English common name and the scientific name, and where relevant, the name in one or more of the languages of Middle-earth, 5) a brief statement of the plant's distribution and ecology (along with mention of major species), 6) economic uses, both traditional and current, and 7) an easy-to-understand description of the plant. The book provides guidelines to the use of plant descriptions, and the few technical terms used are carefully defined. Many plants are illustrated by original artwork, in the style of a woodcut print. The description along with an identification key, when used with the illustrations, allow easy identification of each plant, adding to the reader's understanding and appreciation of Tolkien's works. A glossary of descriptive terms is also included.

[Judd] has in this book produced an extremely detailed survey of the plants that create the distinctive landscapes of Middle-earth. Each plant is treated with the same botanical precision. * Lynn Forest-Hill, Tolkien Studies *
The clear, comprehensive alphabetical listing of each species, along with the visual identification key of the plant drawings, adds to the readers understanding and appreciation of the Tolkien canon. * Ian Street, Annals of Botany *
Walter Judd lifts lovely passages from Tolkien's prose to elucidate on different plant species. There is helpful basic botany to further offset [our] 'plant blindness'. Graham Judd's rich, black and white illustrations are intriguing combinations of botanical likenesses and psychological commentary. * The New York Journal of Books *

ISBN: 9780190276317

Dimensions: 239mm x 163mm x 36mm

Weight: 748g

424 pages