Useful Plants in Arda

It's probably safe to say that Arda carries much of the same plants as Earth does, but there are some special additions like Athelas that set it apart.

The game Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor expanded on some of these plants and their properties, which are listed here.

While the "canon-ness" of some of these items is up for question, they add some flavor and something for our healer characters to work with, so you might find them interesting!

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Alfirin

The Never-fate, Alfirin, is a remarkably durable plant with a year-long life cycle.
In bloom it produces a brilliant gold-yellow and bell-shaped flower that loses neither its color nor its petals for the duration of its life.

Alfirin’s nectar is delightful and said to attract bees for miles; further it is also prized by Elves and Hobbits because it can be made into a fine, delicious syrup that is said to promote vigor and robust health. Some eschew the eating of the syrup and instead use it medicinally as it can be applied to wounds to aid in healing and eliminating scars.

Athelas

The ancient Númenóreans were enamored by “King’s foil”, or Athelas, and its presence in Mordor is no great mystery. The Númenóreans brought it with them when they assaulted Barad-dur as part of the War of the Last alliance in Middle-earth’s Second Age.
The blue-flowered plant has thrived on the entire continent ever since, and is now employed by remedy makers in a variety of therapeutic potions.

More importantly, the commoner can use Athelas without any knowledge of herb lore by chewing the flower petals to create a numbing agent to apply to sore muscles or wounds.

Azuradan

Known to most as Azuradan (or “Blue Mist”) this rooted plant grows tall, hale, and hearty across Middle-earth. Its persistent growth and resistance to all attempts to remove it from tilled soil has also gained Azuradan the nickname, “Farmer’s Sorrow”.

It may be burdensome as a weed, but its medicinal value is significant. Its beguiling and sweet azure shoots are often added to draughts to alleviate the pain from kidney stones. Azuradan’s ground roots, when chewed, diminish the pain of a headache, and healers have noted the plant’s therapeutic value in the balancing and restoration of the humors.

Blue Milk

It would be hard, if not impossible, to mistake the Blue Milk. This rare but delicious mushroom sports a blue cap and stalk. When cut, it produces a blue-hued, milky substance that is commonly employed in a variety of medicinal concoctions.

A single Blue Milk, when consumed, will quell hunger for up to half a day and can instill a sense of heightened awareness. The mushroom cap and stalk can be separated and dried, then ground into flakes that are used in soups, or employed by healers medically in salves and unguents to treat sores.

Carandôl

Brightly colored and cheery, this undersized and crimson-colored mushroom is a fine addition to soups, stews, casseroles, pies, cakes, cookies, crumbles, biscuits, breads, and pastries. It functions perfectly well as a meal on its own, as a flavor additive, or as a dye for both food and clothing.

Carandôl works well in medicinal application, with its peculiar specialty being it serves to bolster a particular mixture or application’s effect on an individual.

This mushroom can often be found growing in the damp soil of Mordor and Mirkwood, taking refuge at the foot of trees there.

Earthbread

A starchy potato-like root, Earthbread must be plucked from the ground, washed, and peeled, and then cooked with salt to bring out it’s natural flavor. When prepared properly, its roots taste like a fine milled bread. When improperly prepared, it tastes like something far less palatable.

Because the plant is something of a rarity in Middle-earth, little is known about its effects as a healing agent. But the Rangers of the Black Gate have sworn by this mysterious “bread” for years, and are able to make use of it in their travels.

Elgaran

The blood-red flower Elgaran may have grown in Middle-earth for centuries, perhaps since its First Age; ancient texts suggest it was an evil omen, flowering where the bones of dead Men rest. According to legend, Elgaran also thrives on mishap, death, and the suffering of others.

The Uruks despise the plant because of its striking beauty and have targeted it for extermination to the extent that they have ignored the plant’s usefulness as both an antitoxin and anti-venom.

Gwînuial

Gwînuial is more commonly known as “The Twilight Vine”. Its delicate, white flowering blooms are five-pointed and remarkably starlike.
It’s interesting to note Gwînuial is common throughout Middle-earth, but never grows to a height taller than a Dwarf. It also never grows where ivy does, although this is peculiarity may be entirely coincidental.

Herbalists known how to collect the plant’s flowers before they are in full bloom to use them in concoctions to cure colds and unblock stuffed noses. The vines themselves have some value as a binding agent as well. Properly striped, the vines can be cut and applied to wounds as makeshift bandages.

Hithlas

The flowering bush Hithlas can be found in Middle-earth’s southern realms. Its festive, almost beguiling appearance belies its deadly nature; the entire plant is toxic and deadly if ingested, or even handled improperly.

The Uruks refer to Hithlas as “Sauron’s Gift,” and steer clear of the plant. Assassins across Mordor use special gloves to collect Hithlas berries. Ground and dried, the berries produce an odorless, colorless poison. Introduced into a victim’s drink, it will produce the same deadly effect as Nightshade and Belladonna.

Lothrond

A segmented fungus sometimes referred to as a cave flower, Lothrond tends to grow in dark and dingy places. It is remarkably handy, can tolerate great shifts in temperature, and is something of a delicacy for both the badger and Hobbit-folk.

Healers traditionally boil the fungus, stalk and all, and create a broth to clear one’s air passage. It is also possible to combine Lothrond with other common herbs to brew potions and salves which can, among other things, create a temporary (and inflated) sense of heroism.

Mallos

A bell-shaped, yellow-colored flower, Mallos is sometimes mistaken for the Never-Fade, Alfirin. This is only from a distance, however. There is no mistaking the two up close. The great difference between Alririn and Mallos lies in their fragrances; Alfirin’s is pleasant, whereas Mallos has a musty, skunky odor about it.

Healers can employ Mallos in combination with other roots, tubers, and flowers. Its primary usage is in lozenges and draughts that will effectively stop a cough of soothe sore throats.

Mallos is native to Gondor, but likely has spread as a result of the Outcasts’ exodus into Mordor.

Naugrimbas

Hobbits love mushrooms. Being discerning about mushrooms, they would not eat Naugrimbas. This foul-tasting toadstool holds little appeal as a foodstuff; it is edible, filling, and little more.

The Dwarves use Naugrimbas as a ration for troops on long marches, but only as a last resort. As a result, some call it “Dwarves’ bread,” but only as an insult to both bread and Dwarves.

The cap of Naugrimbas can be applied to burn wounds, and its consumption can temporarily increase one’s stamina. Otherwise, this fungus is best left to Orcs, and perhaps, starving Ghûls.

Niphredil

The small flowering plant Niphredil may have been born of magic in Middle-earth’s distant past. It’s appearance is indeed otherworldly; seen from a distance, a patch of it’s pale white flowers in bloom will spear to be shimmering as the stars do.

Medicinally, Niphredil flowers, when consumed, function as an agent to soothe the humors and calm a nervous temperament. It’s greenish stalks can be crushed and made into a thin paste to staunch blood flow. The plant has flourished across Middle-earth, and now can be found in even its most inhospitable locales.

Orchamarth

This sickly green fungus stinks of rotting meat and is one vegetarian staple of the Uruk diet. It’s eaten raw by the Uruks, who swear by it as a means to increase bloodlush and maintain a killing frenzy.

Harvested when it is at its most putrid, Orchamarth is also one of the primary ingredients in both the horrid-tasting Orc-draught and Orc grog.
Morgai flies can often be seen hovering near these plants; they are, one supposes, the primary means by which this plant is pollinated. Other animals and races give the Orchamarth a wide berth.

Pipeweed

Known by many different names, this fragrant herb can be found throughout Middle-earth. Its leaves are commonly dried, cut, and smoked in pipes by Humans, Hobbits, and Dwarves. Because of the weed’s popularity as a smoked agent, farmers have taken to devoting portions (or all) of their fields specifically for its growth and sale.

The flowers of the Pipeweed plant are less in demand and almost bitter tasting, but there is some evidence that these too, have some value. Skilled herbalists have suggested the flowers, properly applied, can dull pain and inspire the senses.

Remmenthond

"Beware the snare." Goes the old wives’ saying, but the old wives (at least in the case of Remmenthond) have been horribly misled.

The tangle root known as Remmenthond received its bad reputation because of its persistence as a crop-wrecking weed and its ability to stand firm against even the most energetic attempts to pull it from the ground.

The trick here, is to cut the roots at the surface and then squeeze the sap. Its sap can be used to bind wounds and soothe burns. Remmenthond is intractable, true, but invaluable.