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cornerful · 2 years

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flora of Arda: Fireweed

Tall and jewel-like fireweed can often be seen following after its namesake. Where forests have burned or the earth is scorched and ruined, it is one of the first sights of life returning.

In Summer months, frothy spikes of brilliant pink flowers reach toward the sun. As days grow cooler, they fade.

By the time Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin cross out of the Shire in early Autumn, the blooming season is nearly over.

In the Old Forest on the Eastern border of Buckland lies a clearing where long ago hobbits cut down many trees and built a great fire and burned the earth. They named this place the Bonfire Glade. Afterward, to venture into the forest was to risk its creeping anger, and its cunning.

During an uneasy trek through the dark wood, the four travelers find a respite in the glade. Though wounded, the forest is, at least in one small way, healing. The earth is treeless but no longer bare. The fireweed has come, and its seeds fall like ash and wait for Spring.

"No tree grew there, only rough grass and many tall plants: stalky and faded hemlocks and wood-parsley, fireweed seeding into fluffy ashes, and rampant nettles and thistles. A dreary place: but it seemed a charming and cheerful garden..." -JRR Tolkien, FoTR

Fireweed in Tolkien's time:

"This tendency [to grow on scorched earth] also gave rise to the name Bombweed in the UK. London has indelible memories of the drifts of this flower in the bomb sites of the second world war. As a pioneer plant it was one of the first to colonise the scarred earth, and its vivid spires were synonymous with London's revival. "

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#i was having feelings about weed succession ok #finally resolved to make a post about it #lotr newsletter #lotr #flora of arda #maybe I'll make this a series too #i Love with a capital L arda flora #someone'll be like 'elanor' and I'll be like cool lemme lie down for 2-5 business days #sayin things #alt text added #alright gays who else learned abt this plant and thought of eowyn and faramir #also i love the weeds in the bonfire glade thematically???#the forest is hostile but it has good reason to be #and though the hobbits are the descendants of the ppl who attacked the forest #and the place that eases their mind is the site of their former attempts to control the forest #(insert ppl's previous commentary about hobbits finding security in neatly maintained nature)#even though they are hobbits the place that brings them ease is the same place that the fireweed grows #the place where the forest is healing #if you dont know abt weed succession pls look it up it's amazing #ALSO jirt specifically uses the word glade which is interesting #bc a glade is an opening that was naturally there not formed by people #so the hobbits built the fire there but they didnt cut down trees in that spot sprcifically #that spot was already a natural open area #idk idk just thinks abt that

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