Tree and Leaf was first published in 1964 as a collection of stories and essays by J.R.R. Tolkien.
The volume brought together Tolkien’s essay On Fairy-Stories and the short story Leaf by Niggle. It also included the poem The Adventures of Tom Bombadil in some editions and a version of the story or poem titled Mythopoeia, depending on the publication history and edition.
The central pairing gives the book its title. “Tree” refers to the ideas and imagery surrounding fantasy and imaginative creation, while “Leaf” refers to Tolkien’s story about Niggle, a painter whose unfinished work becomes part of a larger reality. The collection therefore connects Tolkien’s theoretical writing with a compact fictional example.
Tree and Leaf is sometimes confused with later collections such as The Tolkien Reader or Tales from the Perilous Realm. Those books overlap in contents but are different publications. The 1964 volume is particularly significant because it made On Fairy-Stories available in a widely read standalone book rather than only in an academic setting.