The fictional race of tree-like beings created by J.R.R. Tolkien is the Ents.
Ents are shepherds of trees in Middle-earth, and their name comes from an Old English word meaning giant. They appear most prominently in The Lord of the Rings, where Treebeard, one of the oldest Ents, meets Merry and Pippin in Fangorn Forest.
The Ents’ story is closely tied to the destruction of forests by Saruman’s industrial activity. After the Hobbits explain what Saruman has done, Treebeard calls an Entmoot, a council of Ents. The Ents then march against Isengard and help bring down Saruman’s stronghold.
Entwives, who preferred gardens and cultivated lands, became separated from the Ents. Their disappearance is one of the unresolved losses in Tolkien’s mythology. Ents are distinct from Huorns, which are related, more mysterious tree beings, and from the talking trees of other fantasy traditions.