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Dates
First cultivated in the Shire c. III 2670 (c. 1070 by the Shire-reckoning)
Location
Grown especially in the Southfarthing of the Shire, and also on the Bree-hill
Origins
Cultivated by Tobold Hornblower, possibly originating from the Bree-land1
Race
Most commonly enjoyed by Hobbits, though members of various other races also enjoyed smoking a pipe
Other names
Halflings' Leaf, Leaf, Sweet Galenas (or simply Galenas), Tobacco, Westmansweed

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About this entry:

  • Updated 23 April 2016
  • Updates planned: 1

Pipe-weed

The Hobbits’ contribution to civilisation

Tobacco, or a closely related plant, adopted for smoking by the Hobbits, and hence also called Halflings' Leaf.

The Varieties of Pipe-weed

There were evidently many varieties of pipe-weed, but only a handful of those varieties are recorded by name.

Longbottom Leaf Produced by the Hornblowers, whose ancestor Tobold first brought pipe-weed to the Shire, Longbottom Leaf took its name from the town of Longbottom in the Southfarthing. It was there that Tobold Hornblower first grew pipe-weed in the Shire, suggesting that Longbottom Leaf was one of the oldest varieties.
Old Toby Another variety with a connection to Tobold Hornblower ('Old Toby' was Tobold's nickname in later life), either developed by him or named in honour of him. This connection implies that, like Longbottom Leaf, Old Toby dated back to the earlier days of pipe-weed cultivation in the Southfarthing.
Southern Star We know little about this variety of pipe-weed, though doubtless the 'Southern' part of its name derives from the Southfarthing of the Shire (and perhaps suggests that it was grown in the southern parts of that farthing). The 'Star' of its name is probably a reference to the star-like shape typical of flowers in this family of plants.
Southlinch The only recorded variety of pipe-weed that grew outside the Shire, Southlinch originated in the Bree-land, but even among the Bree-landers themselves it was acknowledged that its quality did not approach that of the pipe-weed of the Shire's Southfarthing. Based on its name ('linch' means 'hill') it apparently grew on the slopes of the Bree-hill.

Notes

1

Tobold refused to explain the source of his pipe-weed, but circumstantial evidence strongly suggests that he discovered it in the lands around Bree during travels there in his youth. The plant was brought to Bree from the southern and eastern lands of Middle-earth, and to there from Númenor during the Second Age (hence its alternative name of westmansweed).

See also...

Arahad II, Bree-hobbits, Cornel, Folklands, Four Farthings, ‘Herblore of the Shire’, Hornblower Family, Isengrim Took II, Leaf, Longbottom, Longbottom Leaf, Lotho Sackville-Baggins, Old Toby, Old Toby, Pimple, [See the full list...]

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 23 April 2016
  • Updates planned: 1

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