Ents are the tree-like shepherds created by J.R.R. Tolkien. They appear most prominently in The Lord of the Rings, where they protect the forests of Middle-earth and oppose the destruction caused by Saruman.
The best-known Ent is Treebeard, whose ancient name is Fangorn. He meets Merry and Pippin in Fangorn Forest and helps lead the Ents in their attack on Isengard. Tolkien presents Ents as extremely old beings who move and speak slowly, but who can become powerful when roused to action.
Tolkien drew inspiration from the idea of talking trees in older literature, including Shakespeare’s moving forest in Macbeth. The Ents also express a recurring Tolkien theme: the conflict between living natural landscapes and industrial exploitation. They are distinct from Huorns, related tree-like beings that are less clearly personified.