Which plant was used as Athelas in the movies?

[Cris87]

Hello everyone, this is my first thread.
Anyone knows the plant that was actually used in the Lotr or Hobbit movies as Athelas?
I even started a stackexchange thread on this topic and in a few hours there are already a bunch of people trying to figure it out from the pictures, but if anyone has infos, that would be even better, and I thought this would be one of the best palces on earth to find them.
Yesterday I even wrote to Weta -the only mean to get to Peter Jackson unless you are Frodo himself- to ask him directly.

Thanks to anyone who'll join

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

I don't know, but here's an old thread on the subject -- with a two-decades later revival:

Athelas in the movie

I may have missed previous discussions, but has anyone read anything about the filmmakers' choice of plant to represent athelas? Maybe I haven't seen the movie enough times yet, but as far as I could tell, Aragorn has a little bushy herb that he tries to push into Frodo's wound, instead of...

thetolkien.forum

 

[Cris87]

That may sound hilarious, but that thread is exactly where I started roaming in search for clues.

The road seemed to have been long enough to make my mind forget that I was writing in the same forum where I started from. Anyway thanks Squint-Eyed Southerner, I appreciated it.

That same thread is the one cited in the stack exchange topic that I started yesterday, and who has grown in a bunch of hours.

Today I also wrote to a New Zealand bothanical forum to ask if anybody could recognize it, and to another one of famous european bothanists.

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

I've been looking through athelas references in various threads here, and someone mentioned the possibility that Tolkien may have gotten the idea, at least in part, from the use of tea tree leaves, which were issued to ANZAC troops in The Geat War, because of its medicinal uses. Is it possible PJ used it for the same reason?

Here's a short article, which explains the name and uses, and interestingly, describes an aroma "like nutmeg":

Tea Tree Oil is actually different - The Statesman

TTO comes from leaves of Melaleuca alternifolia, which is known as the Tea Tree, and it should not be confused with plants which produce green tea leaves, industry experts say.

www.google.com

 

[Ent]

I'm having some difficulty matching the 5-leaf white flower and the leafy foliage of the plant.
Maybe if I can isolate which filming location was used for the picture shown of the Kingsfoil, it will help me drill down more closely.
Will need to peek around later.

 

[Cris87]

@Squint-eyed Southerner thanks, didn't know about the tea tree leaves.
@Ent At the moment, accordingly to the european botanical forum the current advise seems towards Chaenostoma cordatum or a white Periwinkle species. Here are some images inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&taxon_id=501464
This morning I wrote to another botanical forum based in NZ and one from British Columbia University
Ent, if you succed at locating where the scene had been taken that could be of great help

 

[Ent]

Yes, I'd heard it was among the periwinkle before as well, and have been looking at them extensively.

Based on the petal structure, there are at least 5 of the varieties in your pictures it could be - but they're all dissimilar in their leaf pattern. I suspect they may be 'regional' but can't be certain.

I cannot convince myself one way or another, which it might be.
(Some of the leaf structure seen in the picture taken from the movie appears to be invasive leaf, not consistent with the leaf of the plant itself.. but the leaf of the plant is pretty indistinct in its detail.)

Regardless, all 5 I might select are just called Chaenostoma cordatum so I'm happy to land there for now. Perhaps some day, enlightenment will come at more depth.

 

[Cris87]

Thanks Ent.
Meanwhile, I received this message
"I am sure there's some information in the expanded film appendices on the home video sets (DVD etc.) but it has been decades since I watched those."
If anyone has any knowledge of that please let me know

 

[Ent]

information in the expanded film appendices on the home video sets (DVD etc.)

Interesting. I will check. I have these in my collection of consistently unwatched filmology..!
(It will be a little while before I get it done, but I"m running out of other sources to turn to, so...there we have it.)

 

[Cris87]

Hello everyone,
I'm here just to happily confirm the species announced before.

Two different botanical forums agreed on the official IRL Athelas used in LOTR and Hobbit movies:
the species is Chaenostoma cordatum, probably var. Snowflake (the small-flowered variety)

Cheers from Italy to anyone who joined and followed

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

An image of it for the record

 

[Firiel23]

this is so cool. @Cris87 if you hear back from Weta, please let us know. My bucket list includes a visit to the Weta Workshops...

 

[Cris87]

thanks @Erestor and @Firiel.
Sure, in my mail I tried to be as different as possible from the every "Hi, I'm a big fan of your movies" mail intro, who will probably be sent to spam immediately after, but till now no answer came from them, anyway I'll be in touch if anything moves

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

thanks @Erestor and @Firiel.
Sure, in my mail I tried to be as different as possible from the every "Hi, I'm a big fan of your movies" mail intro, who will probably be sent to spam immediately after, but till now no answer came from them, anyway I'll be in touch if anything moves

Thank you too, this is an interesting topic!