History Main / Treants

*** The giant trees that serve as Night Elf buildings are known as Ancients, and while they can attack and move around, it's very much a last-ditch option, as they do both very, very slowly. Depending on the specific type, they can be composed entirely of vegetable material or include greater or lesser amounts of rock and crystals, resembling a continuum from typical humanoid trees to pieces of the landscape that fashioned the vegetation growing on them into limbs, got up and walked away. At least on type of Ancients, the Trees of Life, are stated to be the saplings of the WorldTree Nordrassil.

Historically, they're based on Creator/JRRTolkien's [[Literature/TolkiensLegendarium Ents]], which may also be the reason they don't show up in fiction as often as Tolkien's other races -- since Tolkien straight-up invented them instead of borrowing from mythology, [[DisneyOwnsThisTrope his estate has a much stronger copyright claim than it does to his other races]], which can explain both why they never gained the universality of elves or dwarves and why few are actually called Ents; the more direct adaptations are usually referred to by more lawyer-friendly names such as Treemen, Treefolk and Treants ("tree" plus "giant") instead. Regardless of the name, they are often included among the StandardFantasyRaces.

* ''Webcomic/{{Erfworld}}'': Gumps are a type of forest-capable unit [[note]]meaning they can move in forest hexes without penalties, and also a pun on Film/ForrestGump[[/note]] used by the Royal Crown Coalition, shaped like giant, humanoid trees. There are also Tannenbaums, which seem to be pine tree-shaped, Christmas-themed Gumps.

* ''TabeltopGame/{{Chaotic}} has the Overworld Elementalist Ikkatosh, a sapient mobile tree that inhabits the Forest of Life. During the time of Aichlyys, when three specific stars are aligned just so over the forest, he gains a massive boost in power.

** The Treemen are the mightiest inhabitants of [[EnchantedForest Athel Loren]], formed when powerful spirits merge with living trees. Incredibly powerful and ancient, they command great respect from lesser forest spirits and the Wood Elves alike, and are rightfully feared by those outsiders who don't think they're myths or long extinct. They also inhabited Athel Loren long before the Wood Elves and are quite xenophobic, to the point that many see the Wood Elves, who have inhabited and defended the forest alongside the Treemen for millennia, as unwanted interlopers, and want them out of their woods. They've undergone a fair amount of design evolution over time; early treemen largely resemble ogre- or troll-like humanoids made out of wood, with broad heads, no necks, and long and sometimes multiple arms; 8th edition redesigns them to be more humanoid, with distinct necks and smaller heads, large clawed hands, and clusters of leafy branches growing from their necks and shoulders.

How much of a "true" species they are can vary from work to work. In some cases, they're a natural and self-sustaining race like any other, potentially reproducing like tree do by planting seeds that grow into new tree-people. In other cases, they may regular trees that are "awoken" or transformed into humanoid creatures, sometimes permanently and sometimes not. Mixtures of the two also occur, as do cases of the "transformed tree" type that occur naturally and without direct intervention or intent.

Depending on the work, they can be either a natural and self-sustaining race, regular trees that are "awoken" or transformed into humanoid creatures, or a mixture of the two.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' story "ComicBook/SupergirlsGreatestChallenge", the Tree Men from the planet Arbro are towering, yellow-barked, sapient humanoid trees whose species is facing extinction due to their homeworld orbiting a dwindling star.

* The ''Franchise/{{Shrek}}'' movies feature some humanoid trees, inspired by the Fighting Trees from ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz''. They are first seen in the second movie, arm-wrestling in a BadGuyBar; in the third movie they are among the villains that become Prince Charming's henchmen.

Historically, they're based on Creator/JRRTolkien's [[Literature/TolkiensLegendarium Ents]], which may also be the reason they don't show up in fiction as often as Tolkien's other races -- since Tolkien straight-up invented them instead of borrowing from mythology, his estate has a much stronger copyright claim than it does to his other races, which can explain both why they never gained the universality of elves or dwarves and why few are actually called Ents; the more direct adaptations are usually referred to by more lawyer-friendly names such as Treemen, Treefolk and Treants ("tree" plus "giant") instead. Regardless of the name, they are often included among the StandardFantasyRaces.

Historically, they're based on Tolkien's Ents, which may also be the reason they don't show up in fiction as often as Tolkien's other races -- since Tolkien straight-up invented them instead of borrowing from mythology, his estate has a much stronger copyright claim than it does to his other races, which can explain both why they never gained the universality of elves or dwarves and why few are actually called Ents; the more direct adaptations are usually referred to by more lawyer-friendly names such as Treemen, Treefolk and Treants ("tree" plus "giant") instead. Regardless of the name, they are often included among the StandardFantasyRaces.

** There are also the Huorns, which are creatures that start out as normal trees and gradually "wake up" in a sort of reverse process to the Ents growing treeish, growing more mobile and aware. They're just as protective of their forests and distrustful of intruders as true Ents, but can be much more malevolent and dangerous. A part of the Ents' job is to corral and calm the Huorns and keep them from becoming too much of a danger to others, hence the Ents being also know as the Shepherds of the Trees.

* ''VideoGame/{{Myth}}'' has the Forest Giants, mortal enemies of the [[AllTrollsAreDifferent Trow]] who destroyed their homeland in the ancient past.

** In the novel "[[Literature/DoctorsOrders Doctor's Orders]] Captain Kirk leaves Dr. [=McCoy=] in command after the doctor complains one time too many about how things are run while he beams down to a planet named Flyspeck to engage in diplomatic discussions with the non-linear species called the ;At and the Lahit - which were sentient trees.
** By the time the ''Literature/StarTrekTheFall'' novel series takes place, a Lahit individual Rssuu had become a medical doctor and Starfleet officer, serving on as a chief medical officer on a Federation starship. Rssuu used male pronouns in dealing with traditionally sexed species, and the communications device embedded in his trunk had a [[UsefulNotes/BritishAccents British accent]]. Some humanoid officers thought it was a bit unusual to have a sentient tree as a doctor but quickly learned Rssuu was as good as or better than the majority of humanoid doctors. Rssuu largely lived in a nutriet tray placed in sickbay in the USS ''Lionheart'' sickbay where he was stationed, and spread his branches and vines out throughout sickbay.

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'': Prior to [[Literature/StarTrekCoda Coda]]'' the [[Franchise/StarTrekExpandedUniverse expanded universe]] introduced readers to sentient plants.

** By the time the ''Literature/StarTrekTheFall'' novel series takes place, a Lahit individual Rssuu had become a medical doctor and Starfleet officer, serving on as a chief medical officer on a Federation starship. Rssuu used male pronouns in dealing with traditionally sexed species, and the communications device embedded in his trunk had a [[UsefulNotes/BritishAccents British accent]]. Some humanoid officers thought it was a bit unusual to have a sentient tree as a doctor but quickly learned Rssuu was as good as or better than the majority of humanoid doctors.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'': While the majority of the Koroks are a mix of woodland sprites and [[PlantPerson plant people]] (and thus very tiny), [[https://zelda.fandom.com/wiki/Hestu Hestu]], a wandering Korok musician, is the largest of the bunch--he towers over Link--and resembles a humanoid tree. His legs and arms look like branches, while the top of his head resembles a bonsai tree, with leaves as hair.

* ''Literature/{{ByTheGraceOfTheGods}}'': In By The Grace Of The Gods/Kami-tachi ni Hirowareta Otoko, treants are a type of monster where a tree, possibly any kind, absorbed too much magic and turned into a monster. They mostly look like normal trees but with arms and a mask-like face that they have. The latter is also their weak point.

* ''Literature/FightingFantasy'': The world of Titan also features Tree Men, which are the typical gardeners of the forest and fiercely protective of their trees. They are almost indistinguishable from real trees, their mouth and small eyes being typically hidden in their thick, cracked bark. So much that, although elves knew of their existence for a long time, humans have only recently discovered them. Of note is that the SKILL and STAMINA scores given are for their two main attack branches; they are otherwise way too though to be killed by a single adventurer, but cutting both branches will force them to retreat, severely injured.

* ''Literature/{{ByTheGraceOfTheGods}}'': In By The Grace Of The Gods/Kami-tachi ni Hirowareta Otoko, treants are a type of monster where a tree, possibly any kind, absorbed too much magic and turned into a monster. They mostly look like normal trees, except for the mask-like face they have. It's also their weak point.

* ''Franchise/{{ByTheGraceOfTheGods}}'': In By The Grace Of The Gods/Kami-tachi ni Hirowareta Otoko, treants are a type of monster where a tree, possibly any kind, absorbed too much magic and turned into a monster. They mostly look like normal trees, except for the mask-like face they have. It's also their weak point.

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Historically, they're based on Tolkien's Ents, which may also be the reason they don't show up in fiction as often as Tolkien's other races -- since Tolkien straight up invented them instead of borrowing from mythology, his estate has a much stronger copyright claim than it does to his other races, which can explain both why they never gained the universality of elves or dwarves and why few are actually called Ents; the more direct adaptations are usually referred to by more lawyer-friendly names such as Treemen, Treefolk and Treants ("tree" plus "giant") instead. Regardless of the name, they are often included among the StandardFantasyRaces.

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