Nimloth's fruit

[Inziladun]

I don't recall seeing the argument that Nimloth was a cherry tree. What was the basis for that?

Anyway, I very much doubt the fruit of Nimloth, or its parent Celeborn would have been eaten. Even if palatable, the trees had such a symbolic value, being derived from the image of Telperion wrought by Yavanna herself, that any practical use of the tree, its fruit, flowers, or wood, would likely have been considered disrespectful.

x/d with Nerwen

[Galadriel55]

PS: the line of Numenorians is tied with the line of the trees. It would be ironical if a Gondorian king would try to eat himself in a symbolical way (exactly the same way as Pharazon chopped himself down ).

[Alfirin]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

I don't recall seeing the argument that Nimloth was a cherry tree. What was the basis for that? x/d with Nerwen

It came up on the earlier "Flowers of Middle Earth" thread. Up until then I had alwaus though The White tree of Gondor looked the way it did on the flags in the Rankin Bass Movie i.e. sort of oak-like (though I suppose if it was meant to be oak like Tolkine would have said Isildur stole a nut, not a fruit.

Anyway, I very much doubt the fruit of Nimloth, or its parent Celeborn would have been eaten. Even if palatable, the trees had such a symbolic value, being derived from the image of Telperion wrought by Yavanna herself, that any practical use of the tree, its fruit, flowers, or wood, would likely have been considered disrespectful.

x/d with Nerwen[/QUOTE]

That seems reasonable, though I would point out that if you are talking about something like a cherry, eating the fruit and planting are not mutually imcompatible actions, unless you are in the habit of crunching up cherry pits (a bad idea for a LOT of reasons) I was just sort of thinking that the Numernorians might look at Nimloths sort of in the way that they looked at the mallorns, or for that matter all of the other beautiful tree species Numenor boasted. They clearly respected them (at least in the old days) but that did not preclude making use of their wood (Laurinque is specifically said to be good shipmaking wood) talismans (those Oiolaire bows) or food (Yavannamire's fruit would likely not be described as "luscios" if people were note eating it. But then again Nimloth was likey in a class of it's own.

[FlimFlamSam]

Inziladun spoke: [I don't recall seeing the argument that Nimloth was a cherry tree. What was the basis for that?]
I think they are referring to the blossoms of Nimloth as appearing to look like cherry blossoms. As a descendant of one of the two trees, where in various texts it is both described with blossoms like a cheery and leaves like a cherry tree. Nimloth is not described as such though in any text, but it did seem to glow? at times in at least one text form: HOME Peoples of Middle Earh; The History of the Akallabeth referred to as the night-shadows departing when in flower.

Earendil in some early versions of the Earendillinwe (as it eventually came to be so-named in Lord of the Rings See HOME Treason of Isengard) for the name), also carries cherry blossoms on his ship when he sailed to Aman, most likely in reverence to the Two Trees--he needed all the help he could get.

The final long-misplaced and later rediscovered version for Earendillinwe scheduled for inclusion in the book was published in Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion. Mr Tolkien couldn't locate the final form and used an earlier form of the poem. Just an mildly related aside here on this last point, and probably the only really new point of interest.