Wood in Lotro - and where to farm it

Wood in Lotro

I just started a woodworker, and was wondering where to go to farm wood. I will make this part of my blog 'on the road', so each time I find some interesting wood, I will append this blog.

Tier	Level	Wood you can harvest
1	Apprentice	Rowan
2	Journeyman	Ash
3	Expert	Yew
4	Artisan	Lebethron
5	Master	Black Ash
6	Supreme	Ilex
6	Mallorn	Mallorn
7	Westfold	Birch
8	Eastemnet	Oak

9

Westemnet

Walnut

10

Anórien

Poplar

Tier	Rare extra drop	Mastery components
1		Sticky Resin,  Common Flax
2		Ashy Resin, Bree Flax
3		Amber Resin, Pale Flax
4		Black Resin, Yellow Flax
5	Black Ash Heartwood Spider Silk	Soft Resin,  Golden Flax
6	Mithril flake	Hard Resin, Fairy Flax
7	Birch Sapwood Cracked Rhi Sigil	Birch-tar
8	Oak Sapwood Tarnished Crest of Rohan	Oak Bark

9

Walnut Sapwood Emerald Shard

Walnut Bark

10

Poplar Sapwood Zircon shard

Poplar Bark

red = rare, most wanted drop

Tier 1 - Apprentice: Rowan wood
As an apprentice you can make weapons from Rowan wood. This kind of wood can be found in the starter areas. Bree-land and  the Shire are the most obvious choices. You can also look in Ered Luin, but this region is a bit remote to gather resources.

Lore: the name "rowan" is derived from the Old Norse name for the tree, raun. In Latin it is Sorbus, a northern tree-species with beautiful orange berries in the autumn. The most common species is Sorbus aucuparia, and this tree grows on poor to intermediate nutrient rich soils. It is a common tree between oaks and birches and grows up far north, in subarctic places. Sorbus is just a small tree, easy to cut.
Nederlands: Lijsterbes, Deutsch: Mehlbeeren, Svenska: Rönn, Norsk: Asal, Dansk: Røn, Francais: Sorbiers, Русский: Ряби́на.

  berries and leaves in autum

Start your wood gathering on the road from Michel Delving to Budgeford


Rowan in The Shire
The Shire is a good source for rowan wood. You can find it almost everywhere, but most places have a scattered distribution of wood branches. At a low level, its safe to follow the road from Michel Delving to Frogmorton (see map below). Along this road, starting after Waymeet, you can find here and there Rowan wood. Watch your radar closely, Don't forget to activate your track Wood skill and start looking in your radar until one or more blue arrows emerges. That's a sign that a pile of wood can be found. The best trick is to start from Waymeet or Frogmorton and travel between this places back and forth. You will gather a fair amount of Rohan Wood along this track.

Rich concentrations can be found around the southern border of Rushog Bog and in  the northern zone of the Bindbole Wood best place. Bot locations are situated at the NW part of the map, west of Brockenborings and Hobbiton. At low level these places can be a bit dangerous, but if you are careful you never will be troubled by lots of evil creatures. Best advise is to stay away from places with lots of humanoids, like goblins and evil dwarves (dourhands).
Most other places are relatively rare in wood. Skip them if you don't need them for a quest or deed.

North of the Bridgefields and around Brockenboring lies the high level areas, and you will find a lot of Ash wood there, the next tier of the woodworker (tier 2). 

If you follow the Brandywine river, you will even find two Yew branches. They are close to the border of Evendim, a level 30 zone which you will enter when you travel a few meters north of the Yew branches.

Rowan and Ash in The Shire

Rowan in Ered Luin
Ered Luin is not a very well known place for tracking wood, but it is in fact not a bad place either. Rowan wood is best to be collected between Celondim and Kheledul, where you can find scattered wood branches in the grassy fields. There are no big dangers here, only when you run into some bad wolves.
The road between Thorin's gate and Noglond - in the Vale of Thrain - contains also some easy spots for Rowan. But beware, at some places lynxes may be in hiding to attack you. Farther east, between Noglond and the barrows of Haudh Lin - in the Low-lands - there are also some scattered branches to be found. There are some wolves and bears here, but as in most part of Ered Luin, no great dangers.
 

Rowan and Ash in Ered Luin

Rowan in Bree-land (see Bree-land map below)
Bree-land is a major zone with lots of opportunities to harvest rowan and - espcially - ash wood. The Rowan wood places are centered around the Midgewater Marshes best place, and small pockets of Rowan can also be found in the Chetwood North and South and around the lake north of Staddle. Locations with Rowan branches are scattered, but if you circle the Midgewater thoroughly, you will gather a lot in no time. It is not a very dangerous place, although goblins, marsh flies and sometimes spiders can be a nuisance.  If you want a  quieter place, with only some lone wolves, go to the Shire for Rowan. But remember: Bree-land is far the richest of this wood type and even the richest for Ash 9which can be found nearly everywhere! There is even a small spot - the NE shore of the big lake Nen Harn, with yew branches in Bree-land. Don't be surprised about the vast and endless plains and scattered forests in Bree-land, since this zone is one of the biggest in the whole game!

Tier 2 - Journeyman: Ash

Lore: the ash tree belongs to the tree-genus of Fraxinus and more then 50 species are known worldwide. They grow on nutrient rich wet to moist soils and they can endure shallow inundations of river-water. The tree's common English name, ash, goes back to the Old English æsc, while the name Fraxinus originated in Latin. Both words also meant "spear" in their respective languages.The leaves are mostly pinnately compound, but some species have simple leaves. The seeds can be propelled away by the wind and they are popularly known as keys or helicopter seeds. Rowans or Mountain Ashes are unrelated to true ashes and belong to the genus Sorbus though the leaves and buds are superficially similar. See also: Black Ash.

Nederlands: Es, Deutsch: Esche, Svenska: Ask, Norsk: Ask, Dansk: Ask, Francais: Frêne, Русский: Ясень.

Ash

Leaves and propeller fruits

Ash in Bree-land  best zone
If you want Ash wood, Bree-land is the place to be! Nearly everywhere west of Breetown and north of the Chetwood Borth there are plenty spots to gather Ash. Some places have nasty orcs or aggressive wolves, and if you want a quiet place with an easy to go harvest, go gathering around Halecatch Lake, south of Breetown. The road between Breetown and Adso's Camp is also an easy spot to gather Ash.
Ash is so abundance in Bree- land that you have only to look on the map above for the riches harvest places nearby. Just pick a place and go gathering Ash wood. I like the Brandy Hills and the forest north of it (cross the river), but the Far Chetwood Eastern and Southern Breefields are also fine places for this type of wood.
If you travel to the shores of the big Lake Nen Harn, you will even find some Yew Wood, bet there are nasty Turtle Snappers there, which can move surprisingly fast! If you travel north along the eastern shore of this lake, you will finally enter the North-Downs and this is the best zone for gathering Yew branches.

Wood gathering places in Bree-land

Looking for Ash branches in the Far Chetwood

Ash in Ered Luin (see Ered Luin map above)
The ash wood in Ered Luin is concentrated in Rath Teraig, with swarms of goblins, and the barrows area of Haudh Lin, with lots of undeads. 
If you need goblins you can go to Rath Teraig, west of Duillond. It is ;literally crowded with goblins and if you are of the same level, you have to do a lot of fights before you can harvest some wood. There are not many ash branches to be found in Rath Teraig and Haudh Lin is - in Ered Luin - the better place for wood.  

So, if you need more space, travel to Haudh Lin. That place is full of spiders and liches. If you are careful, you can loot more ash between the barrows of the wights than in the goblin infested ruins.
 
Of course, the richest places with ash are in Bree-land, but if you like the elven and dwarven environment of Ered Luin, you at least know where to look for some ash wood.


Ash in The Shire (see Shire map above)
The Greenfields - with goblins and bears -, the Bridgefields and the plains east of Brockenborings are the high level areas of The Shire. You will find a lot of Ash wood in these places, as indicated in the Shire map above (see Rohan wood map). It is much less common then in Bree-land, but if you have quests to do with the hobbits, these are the places to look for ash wood. If you want a quick run to gather lots of Ash, it is better to travel to Breetown and look in the surroundings west and south of this fine small town.

Ash in the Lone-lands
All areas west of the east rim of Weathertop have ash branches, but it is not such a high density as in Bree-land. If you are here for quests, than Ash-gathering is ok of course, don't let that wood rot! But if you need loads of Ash wood, its better to travel a bit to the west and gather Ash in Bree-land.

Ash in the North Downs (see North Downs map below)

In the North Downs Ash is concentrated in the eastern part, along the Greenway, in Annundir best place and the lower (southern) half of the Fields of Fornost. If you are in dire need of lots of Ash wood, it's better to travel to Bree-land (see description above), since this zone is the real Ash-wood heaven! If you need Yew wood, stay in the North Downs, since this zone is the best for that type of wood.

Tier 3 - Expert: Yew

Lore:  yew is a small- to medium-sized evergreen tree, growing 10–20 metres high. Old trees can be even up to 28 m. The bark is thin, scaly brown, coming off in small flakes aligned with the stem. The leaves are dark green, and are shaped like flattened needles of a yule tree. The leaves are highly poisonous. The name yew is derived from the Welsh ywen, a typical name for this tree. In Latin the name is Taxus, meaning toxic. The tree is grows relatively slow and can be very long-lived, at least 2000 years and probably even much longer! Big Yew-treetrunks of 4 metres in diameter are probably belonging to trees of 2000 years old. The wood of yew is world famous for longbow making, escpecially composite longbows. These bows are constructed with the heartwood of yew on the inside of the bow, while the sapwood is on the outside. This takes advantage of the natural properties of yew wood. since the heartwood resists compression while the sapwood resists stretching. Much yew however is knotty and twisted, so unsuitable for bowmaking. Most trunks do not give good staves and even in a good trunk much wood has to be discarded. Yew wood was also used for lute-making, so minstrels take your chance with a good piece of yew wood!

Nederlands: Taxus (ook wel: venijnboom), Deutsch: Eiben, Svenska: Idegranar, Norsk: Barlind, Dansk: Taks, Francais: Taxus, Русский: Тис

An old and lonely Yew-tree in a forest, with dark evergreen leaves

Yew leaves with typical red berries

A 2000 year old massive Yew tree

Yew in the North Downs best zone
The North Downs is definitely the best place for gathering Yew wood in huge quantities. 
Its nearly everywhere, especially west of the mountainrange of Esteldin. If you travel from Nan Amlug via Kingsfell to Meluinen, and you stay at the east side of the grassy and hilly landscape, you will find a lot. If you have some business to do on the east side of Esteldin, that's no problem either. You can find yew wood in that part too, although not so abundant as in the Kingsfell area. In Dol Denen yew is even scare and you dont find any of in between the Angmarin tents in the upper NE. Some yew can also be found in the Fields of Fornost, but its a bit scarce here too.

Ash and Yew in the North Downs

Yew in the Lone-lands (see Lone-lands map above)

Yew can be find in small quantities in the Lone-lands, east of Weathertop (see map above). Its widely scattered and not in such high densities as in the North Downs, west of Esteldin. For both zones, level 20 is sufficient for gathering yew wood. 

Yew in Evendim

Evendim is the zone north of The Shire and west of the Northdowns. At low level you can enter the zone from the Shire, near Bullroarer's Sward. You need to be at least level 28-30 to gather wood in Evendim, at lower levels it is definitely a very dangerous place. Most yew can be found east of Tinundir and north of the gigantic stone statue of the King. The forest area north of Parth Aduial, around the ruins of Ost Foroth best place, is very rich in yew and a good place to gather it in large quantities. If you are level 25 or somewhat lower, it is better to go to the North Downs, east of Esteldin (see map above). At the west side of the lake and along the shore south of the King's statue yew is absent and replaced by lebethron.
 

Yew and Lebethron in Evendim

Yew in Bree-land (see Bree-land map above)
Some yew can also be found in Bree-land, in the far north-eastern part. It is situated along the eastern shores of Nen Harn, the big lake at the border of Bree-land and the North Downs (see the Bree-land map above). If you are low level be aware of the turtles here. They move surprisingly fast and have a nasty bite!

Tier 4 - Artisan: Lebethron Wood

Lore: Lebethron is a tree restricted to Middle Earth. It was a hardwood tree, like an oak, that grew in Ithilien, a place in Gondor. It´s wood is of a dark, almost black colour and is often used for woodcarving work by gondorian artisans. The walking-staves which where presented to Frodo and Sam by Faramir, where also made from Lebethron. Also, the casket in which the Crown of Gondor was kept after the death of Eärnur - and before the coming of Elessar - was made of Lebethron. Lebethron was a Gondor Sindarin word, related to Quenya lepsë, "finger" and oron, "tree".

A Lebethron tree, with a fallen branch in Trollshaws

A Lebethron branch with typical hastate leaves

 
Lebethron in the Lone-lands (see Lone-lands map above)

The swamp in the southeast corner of the Lone Lands (see map above), Harloeg, has a small number of Lebethron nodes. Some Lebethron can also be found in Agamaur. Both places are guarded by signature foes, like lvl 29-30 trolls in Harloeg and lvl 29-30 undeads and evil trees in Agamaur. If you don't like signature foes, go to the Trollshaws, Evendim or the Misty Mountains. These places are much richer for Lebethron wood than the poor spots in the Lone lands and has not such dangerous foes.


Lebethron in Evendim (see Evendim map above)
As soon as you pass the giant stone statue of the King, and you travel southwards along the shore of the big lake, you will encounter several Lebehtron branches. The steep hills at this place contains also some Lebethron. The best locations however are situated at the western shore of Lake Evendim. You can reach it by a boat, near the marketplace of Tinundir. There are some fierce foes here, like wolves, bears, marsh-flies and garaudan hunters, but if you are careful the Evendim shore is a pretty easy place to gather huge quantities of Lebethron. Especially along the shore of the wooded area of Emyn Uial. I found even some branches on Tyl Ruinen, an island which is famous for lots of salamanders and some nasty turtles.
If you like a beautiful place and a peaceful lake, with great vista's, go to Evendim for Lebethron wood! It's quite empty, since most woodworkers gather it in Misty Mountains or Trollshaws.


Lebethron in Trollshaws
Along the road from the Last bridge (Southern Trollshaws) to the shallow part of the Bruinen river (the famous ford where Gandalf stopped the black riders), there are many harvest places of Lebethron. They are easy to loot, unless you anger some bears or - at night - nasty trolls. South and north of the road are also plenty of Lebehtron locations,  but these areas are more dangerous then the road to Rivendell. In the High Moor, east of the ford, the Lebethron branches are a bit scattered, but still there is a lot to be found. In Giant Valley there are plenty of Lebethron branches, but you need to be at least level 50 to gather it easily. For lower levels this valley is very dangerous, since there lives a dense population of giants and drakes. So beware if you are around level 40 and want to gather some wood in this place.
I wouldn't advise to gather Lebetron wood in North Trollshaws and around Nan Tornaeth. Lebethron is sparce here and there are many nasty mobs who dwell in this area (especially trolls...).

Plenty of Lebethron in Trollshaws

Lebethron in Angmar (see Angmar map below)
The western part of Angmar, south of Fasach-Falroid, is very rich in lebethron branches. If you love dark places, and an eerie sound, go to Anmar. See the Angmar-map with black Ash locations, somewhat below this text.

.

Lebethron in Misty Mountains
You will find plenty of branches of Lebethron in the western half ofAngmar, roughly between Donnvail and Ram Duath. As soon as you enter Angmar from the Northdowns (take the right road into the mountains, just after the warg area of the North Downs; the left entrance leads you throug a dangerous road with lots of wyrms and drakes), you wil find plenty of lebethron along the road. An failry easy place is the eastern half of the Ram Duath and Fasach-Larron. More difficult - if you are of the same level as the mobs there - is the western part of the Ram Duath and Fasach-Falroid. You can also circle the most easy places constantly, and loot al the lebethron you can find. They will be respawned, if you complete your looting circle.

Lebethron and Black Ash in the Misty Mountains

Lebethron in Forochel
Although there are some pine forest in Forochel, I didn't find any wood in this zone. Possibly all branches are vanished under the snow...

No wood in Forochel

Tier 5 - Master: Black Ash

Lore: Black Ash is a species of Fraxinus (ash), which grows in eastern Canada and northeastern United States. Its full Latin name is Fraxinus nigra, derived from the the old English æsc, meanings spear, and nigra, a Latin word for black. It is a medium-sized deciduous tree with a height of 15–20 m and their trunk can be up to 60 cm. In rare circumstances the treetrunk can be as big as 26 meter and 1.6 m in diameter.
The bark is thick and corky, with a grey color. Its becoming scaly and fissured with age. The leaves and fruits are like the common ash (see above). Black ashes grows commonly in swamps and it is one of the first trees to lose its leaves in the fall. This wood was used by Native Americans of the North East for making baskets.  It is also a popular wood for making guitars and basses, due to its good resonant qualities.

Nederlands: Zwarte Es, Deutsch: Schwarz-Esche, Svenska: Svart Ask, Norsk: Svart Ask, Dansk: Sort Ask, Francais: Frêne Noir, Русский: черный Ясень.

Leaves of the Black Ash

A corky treetrunk in a swamp: that must be black Ash!

Where to find Black Ash  
Black Ash can be found in Eregion and eastern Angmar. If you like some snow, it will be the eastern half of Misty Mountains. Unlike Eregion it cannot be accessed easily in the Misty's or Angmar. For the Misty Mountains you have to travel to the giant region in the SE corner of the map (Giant Halls); or the goblin and wolf area in the NE corner. In most other places in Misty Mountains you will find Lebethron Wood.

For Angmar however you need to do some quests to enter the eastern part (epic Book quest, books 6). If you have done these quests, you can look for Black Ash  south of Meathad and Gorothlad. Its not a very cosy place, since there are lots of mobs and it is a long way to travel. But maybe you can combine your wood gathering activities with some quests, slayer deeds (orcs, wolves) or farming hides.

Random drops: some black ash branches, and especially some heavy black ash branches, will drop occasionally Spider silk and Black Ash Heartwood. Both are rare crafting ingredients.


Black Ash in Misty Mountains (see Misty Mountains Map above)

Black ash in the Misty Mountains can only be found in the eastern, most dangerous part of this zone. There are 3 concentrations of ash wood: one around the western part of Giant Hallas, one around South High Pass and one around North High Pass. The Giant Halls area is the most dangerous of this three, with lvl 44 signature trolls and giants. At the high pass there are wargs and goblins in the northern part, and wyrms in the southern part. Although the same level as in Giant Halls, these mobs are no signatures and easier to overcome than the awful giants.

Black Ash in Eregion

In Eregion, Black ash is more or less restricted north of the dry riverbed of Nan Sirannon. So, roughly north of the line Mirobel and the Walls of Moria (see the map below). 
In fact, Eregion is one of the best zones to gather black ash wood. Its easy accessible from the the Trollshaws. Just ride south along the Bruinen River inTrollshaws, and if you follow the east bank, you will finally find the road to Eregion. You can also quick travel from the stable in Rivendell to Echad Gwingris, or other places in Eregion.
Just pick a zone which is the most comfortable for you, ans gather lots of black ash in Eregion!

Black Ash and Ilex in Eregion (red circles: heavy branches)

Black Ash in Forochel
There seems to be no wood at all in this zone. Nada, Rien, Niets, Nichts, Nothing, Ingenting, Ei mitään, ничего...   :(

Sorry, no wood in Forochel!

Black Ash in Angmar
In Angmar, black ash can only be found in the eastern half of this zone. The forests at Gorothlad and especially south of Maethad are relatively rich in black ash. Some scattered branches I found in the open forest north of Duvuinen and along the rod from this area to Himbar. At himbar there are a lot of spiders, and somehow this has an effect on the normal and heavy branches of black ash: you will find Spider silk as a fairly regular random drop here.
Two branches were found in the elite master area east of Barad Gularad, but the rest of this very dangerous area (lots of 25.000 morale elite masters here) has no black ash at all. I checked the Rift of Nurz Ghashu, the ruins of Imlad Balchorth and all the pools and little volcanoes of Malenhad, but these places didn't contain any black ash branches. West of Malenhad, the ash branches are replace by lebethron branches.

Tip: remember that you have to complete one of the epic books (wasn't it Book 6?), to enter the eastern half of Angmar. You need to pass some strange, devil-like statues, and this is only possible after completing the complete quest-line of Epic book 6, which can be done solo.

Black Ash in Angmar

Tier 6 - Supreme: Ilex and Mallorn Wood

Lore:  
Mallorns are huge Elven trees, which grew in Tol Eressëa, Númenor and Lothlórien. Mallorn means 'golden tree' and refer to the leaves' colour in autumn and winter. Their bark was silver and smooth, and its boughs somewhat upswept after the manner of the beech; but it never grew save with a single trunk. Its leaves, where like those of the beech, but greater; pale green above and silver beneath, glistering in the sun. In the autumn they did not fall, but turned to pale gold. In the spring it bore golden blossom in clusters like a cherry, which bloomed on during the summer. As soon as the flowers opened the leaves fell, so that through spring and summer a grove of Mallorns was carpeted and roofed with gold, but its pillars were of grey silver. Its fruit was a nut with a silver shale.

Ilex is the Latin word for holly, a shrub or small tree with  an evergreen and deciduous foliage and inconspicuous white flowers.The berries are red and often used in Christmas decorations. The small tree is generally slow-growing, and in Europe not much higher then 10 meter. Ilex in Latin means the holm-oak or evergreen oak. In the old times, oak and holly had the same name, Ilex. Originally the wood of holly (Ilex) was one of the traditional woods for bagpipes. So minstrels: take you chance and craft a holly bagpipe! Since medieval times the plant has carried a Christian symbolism, because of the spiny leaves, which are evergreen ('the eternal life') and maybe the red berries in the yule time referred to the blood of Christ during the crucifixion. However, the association of holly with the yule time celebrations almost certainly predates Christianity. Druids wore holly wreaths on their heads. In shields and heraldry of the great houses, holly is the symbol of truth.

Nederlands: Hulst, Cesky: Cesmína, Deutsch: Stechpalme, Svenska: Järnek, Norsk: ?, Dansk: Kristtorn, Francais: Ilex, Русский: Па́дуб, Suomi: ?

Ilex has red berries and evergreen spiny leaves during the Yule time

Where to find Ilex

Ilex in Eregion (see Eregion Map above)

Ilex can be found in the south-eastern part of Eregion, see the black ash map above. Although not so abundant as in the upper levels of Moria, Eregion is a very comfortable zone to harvest ilex branches. In my opinion it is even one of the best zones for Ilex, since the landscape consists just of grassy hills and dry riverbeds. No problems for getting lost or plumming to your dead in unexpected deeps, like the upper halls of Moria. If you are level 60, I would prefer even Eregion above Moria for the Ilex branches. Just circle around and gather all the Ilex branches you see, if you are finished, the branches have already respawned. The only thing you have to do in Eregion, is to circle around and gather wood...

Ilex in the Mines of Moria

There are lots of Ilex-gathering places in Moria, but the wood locations are scattered. Moria is an ugly and dark place to gather wood, so be prepared to encounter many mobs. Also, many regions of Moria are maze like, so you can get lost quickly if you don't pay attention to your tracks. If you like grassy planes instead of dark, evil labyrinths, it may be a better idea to gather Ilex in Eregion (see above).

Gathering Wood in Moria - a conclusion
In my opinion, the best strategy for gathering wood in Moria, is to concentrate your search for Ilex in one zone or area. Skip the others! If you don't like dark dungeons, I can advise you to search for Ilex on the grassy planes of Eregion (see above).

Tip: look for heavy branches of Ilex, which can drop a Mithril flake!


The Great Delving
The Great Delving is the first area when you enter Moria. It is one of the maze areas where you can get lost very easily, if you don't pay attention to the path you have taken. Piles of Ilex Wood are not very abundant in the Great Delving, and they are all scattered around the area. I have provided two maps for you: one paper map, and one actual map. The actual map can be seen in your radar, and probably it helps to find most of the woodpiles in this area.

Piles of Ilex Wood in the Great Delving (Paper Map)

Piles of Ilex Wood in the Great Delving (Real Map)

Zelem-Melek
Probably one of the best places in Moria to gather Ilex, is Zelem-Melek. This level 50-55 region lies south of the 21st Hall. If you walk out at the south side or the southwestern corner of the 21st Hall, and go downstairs, you will eventually enter the halls and corridors of Zelem-Melek. You will find plenty of Ilex-logs here, but at level 50-55 it is a dangerous place to be. However, you can do lots of pup-up questst, so its worth the try! Above lvl 65 it is an easy-to-go area, where you can harvest lots of Ilex wood in little time. Other areas where you can gather Ilex wood are The Great Delving, Durin's Way, Silvertine Lodes and Waterworks. But I think Zelem-Melek is one of the best.

Ilex places south of 21st Hall

 

Mallorn

A long time ago, the woods of Lothlorien were great for harvesting mallorn wood, a special wood type that could also be found in Mirkwood and Enedwaith. As of Update 12 (Helm's Deep) in November 2013, these branches were removed from the game. The mallorn-nodes were replaced by Ilex.

Ilex is rather abundant in Middle Earth and can be found in Southern Mirkwood, Enedwaith, Moria, and southern Eregion. Most of these places are a bit dangerous, and they most relaxed place to search for Ilex is the lovely Golden Forest in Lothlorien. So, if you need a lot of Ilex: just go to Lothlorien!


Tip: look for heavy branches of Ilex, which can drop a Mithril flake!

Ilex places in Lothlorien (formerly Mallorn nodes)

Tier 7 - Westfold: Birch

Birch Branches are found in level 65-75 regions of Enedwaith, Dunland and The Great River.

Lore: birches belong to the genus of Betula and the trees are commonly known for their striking white trunks. The color, however, differs with each species, but generally most species has a shade of white. The common name "birch" is derived from birka, an old Germanic word meaning "white", "bright", or "to shine". It refers of course to the color of the trunk.

The bark often separates into thin, papery plates, especially in a species with a striking white trunk: the paper-birch. These thin papery plates can be used for drawings and paintings. The papery plates are resistant to decay, due to the resinous oil it contains.

Birch wood

Birches can grow on relatively acid and nutrient poor grounds, like sandy soils and peatlands. In nutrient poor mires and bogs, the birch replace the ash, which - on the contrary - grows along nutrient rich borders of lakes, swamps and streams.

Nederlands: berk, Deutsch: Birke, Svenska: Björk, Norsk: Bjørk, Dansk: Birk, Suomi: Koivut, Francais: Bouleau, Русский: Берёза.

A characteristic birch-wood with white trunks

Birch in The Great River new

As soon as you pass the border of SE Lothlorien, at the vineyards, you enter the zone of the Great River. This is a zone rich in birch wood and you can find it nearly everywhere. If you are at the same level as the mobs around, it is wise to gather wood while you are also doing quests. The area around Thinglad is the less dangerous part of The great River, so it is an excellent starting point to gather branches of birch.

Birch branches can be found in the Twilight Gorge, around Stangard, in the Rushgore and even in the treeless Brown Lands. The Dimlight Gorge is the most dangerous part of The Great River. You will encounter some gargantuan spiders, trolls and walking pine-trees (Huorns), of 75.000 morale and higher.

Don't forget to harvest the heavy birch branches, since they will drop occasionally the rare cracked Rhi sigil. I found these sigils in Dimlight Gorge and the Brown lands (both level 75 areas).

One curious drop of oak has to be mentioned too. When harvesting wood in the northern rim of the Dimlight Gorge, near a big spider hole, I found 1 branch of oak. This is a tier 8 type of wood which is common in East Rohan, but must be absent in The Great River. Maybe it was just pure luck that I found oak; a real once in a lifetime chance. When I checked the spot again (marked orange on the map below), I found only birch...

Plenty of Birch in The Great River

Tier 8 - Eastemnet: Oak

Oak Branches can be found in East Rohan, as soon as you pass the border at the bridge of The Great River to The Wold. It can be found in The Wold, East Wall, Norcrofts, Sutcrofts, Entwash Vale and the icy Wildermore regions.

Oak tree

Lore: the oak produces one of the most dense wood types in the Northern hemisphere and is widely known and praised for its great strength and hardness of the wood. Oak plankings were used for the best Viking longships in the 9th and 10th centuries. The wood was hewn by axe and wedge from green logs, to produce radial planks (similar to modern day sawn timber planks). Oak planks were also higly prized since the Middle Ages for use in interior paneling of prestigious buildings and the construction of fine furniture. 

Oak leaves and fruits (acorns)

Due to its harness oak is a common symbol of strength and endurance and has been chosen as the national tree of many countries. In Greek mythology, the oak is sacred to Zeus, king of the gods. In Zeus's oracle in Dodona, Epirus, the sacred oak was the centerpiece of the precinct, and priests would divine the pronouncements of the god by interpreting the rustling of the oak's leaves. The Germans worshiped the oak and connected it with Donar, the thunder or lightning god. Probably due to the fact that oaks are more likely to be struck by lightning than any other tree of the same height. In Norse mythology, the oak was sacred to the thunder god, Thor. According to legend, the Christianisation of the heathen tribes by Saint Boniface was marked by replacing the oak for the fir as a "sacred" tree, because the triangular shape of the fire symbolizes the Trinity.

oak wood

Oak in The Wold best zone
As soon as you enter The Wold - at the bridge in thesoutheast part of The Great River - you enter East Rohan. This big part of Middle Earth contains 5 areas, and - surpisingly - the most easiest zone is also the richest zone for oak wood. I mapped the part of The Wold north of Harwick almost completely, and as you can see it is full of Oak branches. At level 85 it is a pretty easy zone for oak wood, much easier than the other zones in East Rohan.

South of Harwick there is a distinct change in oak distribution: the nodes are sparse here and widely distributed. So, if you need a lot of oak, stay roughly north of Harwick and filly your bags as quickly you can!

I found one branch of Birch in The Wold, along the riverbank. Actually, this was already the map of The Great River, but after you have crossed the bridge into The Wold.

The Wold is undoubtedly the best zone for Oak wood in Lotro

Oak in the East Wall
The east Wall is a narrow strip of land between The Wold and the mighty waterfall the Rauros. This zone has nice vistas on the Argontah, the lake Nen Hochoel and the rock-island Tol Brandir.

Oak is distributed in small clusters, like in The Wold. You can find plenty along the road, bit most branches are guarded by melee or ranged orcs. So, be a bit carefull by picking the oak branches. Especially the southern part of the road, along Parth Galen and to the Sutcrofts (which is actually a dead end, blocked by an orc-blockade), is rich in oak. This zone is more dangerous than The Wold, but if you have some competion in wood gathering, the East Wall is an excellent alternative.

Distribution of Oak branches in the East Wall

Oak in Norcrofts
In the Norcrofts you can find scattered branches of Oak, and this seems to be the normal distribution east and south of the Wold. There doesn't seem an particular area with large concentrations of oak branches here, like in The Wold.

In the Norcroft zone oak is widely scattered

Oak in the Entwash Vale
The distribution of oak in the Entewash Wash is like all the zones west and south of The Wold: widely scattered and not so common as in the northern part of The Wold. There are no great concentrations of oak branches. 

Oak is widely scattered in the Entwash Vale

Oak in Sutcrofts
The Sutcrofts is one of the end zones where you will do quests in East Rohan. There are lots of quests at Snowbourn and Hytbold, so you can pick your wood while doing your quests and tasks here. But, be aware of roaming warbands between Snowbourn and Hytbold. They can hit you in the back while you are cutting wood. Kramp and Bugud, two notorious warband leaders, can hit a lot, together with their adds. If you are unaware of them, you are dead in a few seconds. Kramp can come dangerously close to Snowbourn, even close to the east entrance. Just watch the moving red flag on the map closely, while you are looking for wood. If such a flag (which is the location of a warband), is near to a wood branch, be on your guard - or run away! Like the Norcrofts, there is no area in the Sutcrofts with large concentrations of oak wood.

The Sutcrofts has also a widely scattered distribution of oak

Oak in Wildermore
The Wildermore zone is a newly added part of eastern Rohan. It can be entered by narrow mountain trails in the Entwash Vale, the Norcrofts and the Wold. Most adventurers who follow the questline in the Wildermore, will enter this zone from the Wold.
The Wildermore is an icy part or Rohan, with some resemblance to Forochel. It is bitter cold and near the peculiar blue ice-spires you will encounter some serious frostbite to your eyes . Luckily the frostbite effects are not severe, only annoying. 

This zone differs from Forochel by plenty of wood. Oak can be found nearly everywhere, but not - as an exception to the rule - in the Balewood.  Nodes with heavy oak branches are marked with a red circle.
The abundance of wood in this snowy region has probably something to do with the recent climatic change in the Wildermore zone. According to local rumors the snowy landscape is the result of some evil magic. To find the real source of all this increasing coldness, you have to follow the Wildermore questline.

The icy Wildermore is an excellent zone to look for Oak branches

Tier 9 - Westemnet: Walnut

WalnutBranches can be found in West Rohan, and you can enter the various regions as you pass the river east of Snowbourn. Walnut branches can be found in all regions of Western Rohan.

Walnut tree (Juglans) in an open landscape

leaves and green husks of walnut

Lore: the walnut branches you will find in Western Rohan refers to branches of trees of the genus Juglans. These trees are commonly known as the common walnut and the black walnut. 
Walnuts are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall (about 30–130 ft), with up to 25 cm long pinnate leaves. 

Walnut also refers to the fruits, which are the edible seeds of the tree. The walnut fruit is enclosed in a green husk, which looks like a small green oval apple. This husk is leathery and very hard, and also inedible. After harvest, the husks are dried and when removed they reveal the wrinkly walnut shell, which is in two halves. This shell is hard and encloses the edible brain-shaped kernel, which is also made up of two halves. Walnuts provide a nutrient-dense food: 100 grams of walnuts contain 15 grams of protein, 65 grams of fat, and 7 grams of fiber. In China, pairs of walnuts have traditionally been rotated and played with in the palm of the hand, both as a means to stimulate blood circulation and as a status symbol. Black walnuts, a different species than the normal brown walnuts, has been promoted as a potential cancer cure. However, according to the American Cancer Society, there is no scientific evidence that support these claims.

Ripe walnut (above) with opened husk, below: the brown nut in the green husk

The wood of the walnut tree is important for their hard and dense timber, which can be polished in an atrractive shiny wood. The colour of the wood ranges from creamy light brown (sapwood), to a dark chocolate brown (heartwood). Because of its colour, hardness and shiny appearance, the wood will make prized furnitures and carvings. Walnut burls (or 'burrs' in Europe) are commonly used to create bowls and other turned pieces. Veneer sliced from walnut burl is one of the most valuable and highly prized by cabinet makers and prestige car manufacturers. Walnut wood has been the timber of choice for gun makers for centuries, including the Gewehr 98 and Lee Enfield rifles of the First World War. It remains one the most popular choices for rifle and shotgun stocks, and is generally considered to be the premium – as well as the most traditional – wood for gun stocks, due to its resilience to compression along the grain. 

walnut wood

The name walnut derives from Old English wealhhnutu, which means 'foreign nut,' because it was introduced from Gaul and Italy. The genus name Juglans comes from Roman mythology, and means glans of Jupiter (Ju-Glans, btw the glans is the shiny, acorn shaped part of the penis).
Nederlands: Walnoot (Okkernoot), Deutsch: Walnüsse, Svenska: Valnöt, Norsk: Valnøtt, Dansk: Valnød, Francais: Noyer, Русский: Орех., Polski: Orzech