The golden tree in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Valinor was Laurelin.
Laurelin was one of the Two Trees of Valinor, the great sources of light in the Blessed Realm before the creation of the Sun and Moon. Its name is commonly interpreted as meaning “Song of Gold” in Tolkien’s invented Quenya language. Laurelin’s light was golden, while the light of its companion tree, Telperion, was silver.
The Two Trees were created by Yavanna and stood in the land of the Valar. Their destruction by Melkor and the giant spider Ungoliant became one of the central tragedies of Tolkien’s mythology. The last fruit and flower of the trees were used to make the Sun and Moon.
Readers often reverse the two names because both trees are ancient and closely connected. Telperion is the silver tree; Laurelin is the golden one. Their light also survives indirectly in later stories through the Silmarils.