The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Location
Found across Middle-earth, from the Shire southward at least as far as Ithilien
Species
Corylus avellana
Pronunciation
'fi'lbert'
Meaning
Named for St Philbert or Philibert, because this plant's nuts ripened close to St Philbert's Day on 20 August
Other names

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 3 January 2023
  • This entry is complete

Filbert

An old name for hazel

"Primeroles and anemones were awake in the filbert-brakes..."
The Two Towers IV 4
Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit

Hazel was found across Middle-earth, from Beleriand in the far northwest during the First Age, to regions at least as far southward as Ithilien in the Third Age. A tangled shrub or small tree, hazel produces dangling flowers in spring, and edible nuts in late summer. Historically hazelnuts ripened near St Philbert's day, and so the nuts (and the tree that produced them) came to be known as 'filbert'. Hazel or filbert tends to grow in dense matted thickets, also known by their older name of 'brakes', hence the 'filbert-brakes' that Frodo and Sam encountered as they journeyed through Ithilien on the Quest of Mount Doom.


See also...

Hazel, Primeroles

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 3 January 2023
  • This entry is complete

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