POSSIBLE ANALOGUES OF INVENTED PLANT SPECIES OF TOLKIEN’S MIDDLE-EARTH IN EARTH’S CURRENT FLORA

Abstract

Tolkien’s mythology of Middle-earth is a highly studied corpus in ecology and environmental studies. Due to the cosmogonic nature of this mythology, ecological patterns are both similar and different to our world. Especially in terms of biodiversity, the flora and fauna we encounter in the corpus are at the centre of ecological and environmental approaches. Plant biodiversity supports the unique habitat formation of many regions in the history of this mythology. Being interested in botany, Tolkien paid particular attention to plants’ geographical distribution and location and broke new ground in terms of diversity. In this diversity, there are also some plants that he invented. The purpose of this paper is to compare some plants Tolkien invented – athelas, mallorn, elanor, niphredil, and simbelmynë – with their companion plants in Earth’s current flora. In addition, these plants’ geographic locations in Middle-earth will also be revealed in terms of climate and vegetation diversity.