Editing Old Forest (section)

=== Geography, flora and fauna ===

[[File:An old, damaged oak, Savernake Forest - geograph.org.uk - 344479.jpg|thumb|right|250px|An old oak in [[Savernake Forest]], [[Wiltshire]], England. English oak woods provided the inspiration for the Old Forest]]
{{anchor|Barrow-downs}}

The Old Forest was about 1,000 square miles in area (some 2,600 km<sup>2</sup>).<ref group=T>Based on the fold-out map of "The West of Middle-earth" in the 1st edition of ''[[Unfinished Tales]]'' (hardback). This map has a larger scale than the equivalent map in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''.</ref> It was bordered on the east by the '''Barrow-downs''', a hilly area dotted with ancient [[burial mounds]], where Frodo's party encountered the [[Barrow-wight]]. In the north it reached towards the Great East Road, and in the west and south it approached the [[Baranduin|Brandywine]] river. The '''Withywindle''', a tributary of the Brandywine, ran through the heart of the forest, which covered most of the Withywindle's [[drainage basin]].<ref name="Old Forest" group=T/>

This was also a 'catchment area' in another sense. The landscape, trees and bushes were aligned so that if any strangers attempted to traverse the forest, then they were funnelled towards the Withywindle,<ref name="Old Forest" group=T/> and into the clutches of Old Man Willow in particular. The valley of the Withywindle within the Old Forest was known as '''the Dingle'''.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|2014}}, Preface</ref>

The Old Forest was a type of woodland nowadays described as [[temperate broadleaf and mixed forest]]. The west and south of the forest was dominated by "[[Quercus robur|oaks]] and [[Fraxinus excelsior|ashes]] and other strange trees", which were generally replaced by [[Pinus nigra|pines]] and [[fir]]s in the north.<ref name="Old Forest" group=T/> [[Fagus sylvatica|Beeches]]<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|2014}}, poem 2 verse 1</ref> and [[Alnus glutinosa|alders]]<ref name="Old Forest" group=T/><ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|2014}}, poem 2 verse 5</ref> were found here and there in the forest, and [[willow]]s were dominant along the Withywindle.<ref name="Old Forest" group=T/>

Many of the trees were covered "with [[moss]] and slimy, shaggy growths".<ref name="Old Forest" group=T/> The [[understory|understorey]] was congested with bushes and other undergrowth, including [[Rubus|brambles]]. A variety of plants grew in the forest's occasional glades: grass, [[Conium#Conium maculatum|hemlocks]], [[Anthriscus sylvestris|wood-parsley]], [[Epilobium angustifolium|fire-weed]], [[Urtica dioica|nettles]] and [[Cardueae|thistles]].<ref name="Old Forest" group=T/><ref>[[Wayne G. Hammond|Hammond, Wayne G.]] & [[Christina Scull]] (2005), ''[[The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion]]'', [[HarperCollins]], pp. 121–122, {{ISBN|0 00 720308 X}}.</ref>