Old Forest
The Numenorians deforested much of the former extent of the forest, Sauron's forces did even more. Hobbits making room for their homes cleared more area. A sort of war occurred between these trees and the hobbits. The trees moved right up to the hedge, provoking the hobbits into cutting down and burning many of them in a big bonfire. Hence the hostility is a bit justified.
The above mentioned hedge was the main border. It runs 20 miles running along the Brandywine River, starting at the main bridge and heading south. The Brandybuck family had a private tunnel to cross through the High Hay. It was brick and had a heavy iron gate blocking unauthorized use. Through here, the hobbits were able to escape the Ring Wraiths. Two more public gates were at the two ends. The northern one (and probably the southern one too) had constant day and nighttime guards. Due to the burning of the encroaching trees, 100 yards remain cleared.
Interestingly to me, there is no ent guardians. The elves tend to avoid this area as well. Literally, Tom Bombadil and his wife are the only sentient creatures I know in the area. Most people were scared off by the trees swaying when there was no wind or seemingly whispering to each other. That and the very real attacks on travelers and attempts to confuse/misdirect them. Old Man Willow - a sort of nature spirit - appears to have some sort of control over this strange malice.
The climate here has temperatures between 37 and 60 °F based on real life similar forests. While technically similar forests can exist in more extreme winters, this range appears to be more fitting for what Tolkien describes.There would be a distinct dry season in some regions, but warm and rainy weather is needed for most of these forests. This is between 24 in and often over 59 in per year. Oak, beech, maple, and birch are common in these forests. We can assume all of these exist - but they may not be common. The ones mentioned in the story are likely just the more common ones the Hobbits actually encountered. The coniferous trees that earn the "mixed" designation are often pine, fir and spruce
Geography
It is located on the eastern borders of Buckland - one of the hobbit dominated border regions of the Shire. The remaining extent of the forest is about 1,000 sq. miles.
Fauna & Flora
It is - as one would expect - old growth forest. It was described as being ancient, primordial, twisted and tangled. Thus we can assume that it was quite difficult to travel through. Oak and ash were dominant in the south and pine and fir were located further north. The trees here were awoken by the elves and taught to speak. They were also not too keen on outsiders. A hedge had to be built to keep out the trees and the dangerous animals. One tree even attacked and almost killed some of the hobbits when they passed through.
Noted other plants in the forest are hemlock - toxic and related to carrots. Cow Parsley is also found here. It is technically edible, but apparently does not have that good of a taste. Its relatives (which can be assumed are also found here) cause burns and are toxic when eaten. Fireweed is said to be here as well, probably more common near the High Hay. Fireweed often colonizes in burned out areas that are wide open with plenty of light. Nettle does have beneficial uses, but also is thorny and attract insects.
The Old Forest bears a lot of resemblance to real world Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests. This basically means more northern climates, conifers and brad leaf trees. The canopies reach up to 200 feet high. The bottom roughly 50 feet is much darker and thus dominated by shade tolerant plants. We can expect a lot of shrubs at the very bottom plus the stunted trees from the taller species waiting more light.
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