Ents are the tree-like shepherds of the forests in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth. They appear prominently in The Lord of the Rings, where Treebeard is the best-known Ent.
Ents are ancient beings who care for and protect trees. Their language is extremely slow and elaborate, reflecting their long lives and deliberate way of thinking. Treebeard tells Merry and Pippin that the Ents have been involved in the history of Middle-earth for a very long time.
A major plot point is the Ents’ attack on Isengard. After learning how Saruman’s forces have destroyed forests, the Ents gather in an Entmoot and march against the stronghold, damaging it and helping defeat Saruman’s industrial war machine.
Entwives are a related but distinct part of the mythology. The Ents have lost contact with them, and Tolkien never completed a definitive account of what happened to the Entwives.