The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Location
Rowans grew widely in the mountains of Middle-earth; those specifically named as Orofarnë grew on the slopes of the southern Misty Mountains
Species
Sorbus aucuparia, the rowan or mountain ash
Pronunciation
orofa'rneh
Meaning
'Mountain-dwelling'1
Other names
Carnimírië, Lassemista, Rowans; commonly referred to as the 'mountain ash'

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About this entry:

  • Updated 27 September 2025
  • This entry is complete

Orofarnë

A name for the rowan-tree

The Ent known as Bregalad or Quickbeam dwelt in Fangorn Forest, and was particularly associated with highland trees of the kind known as mountain ash or rowan. His simple Ent-house was surrounded by a ring of these silver-barked, red-berried mountain trees. To the Hobbits Merry Brandybuck and Pippin Took, he told how many of his precious rowan trees had been cut down by Orcs (and so he was easily persuaded to attack Isengard, the source of these marauding Orcs).

Bregalad gave these trees a series of Elvish names, strung together in Ent-fashion: Orofarnë, Lassemista, Carnimírië. Of these names, Orofarnë meant 'mountain-dwelling', because these trees are often found in high and rocky places (and indeed this is the source of their common English name of 'mountain ash'). (For interpretations of the other names used by Bregalad, see note 1 below.)


Notes

1

When the Ent Bregalad sang of his slain rowan trees, he described them poetically with a string of Elvish names: Orofarnë, Lassemista, Carnimírië. Taken together, those three names provide a Quenya description of the rowan tree: 'mountain-dwelling, leaf-grey, with adornment of red jewels'. This interpretation comes from The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien No 168, dated 1955; the 'red jewels' mentioned here are a reference to the scarlet berries of the tree.

See also...

Lassemista

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 27 September 2025
  • This entry is complete

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