The Great Darkness

[Neithan]

Also, if Orome was out hunting there must have been sufficient plant life to support animals.

True. But the question is, how is that possible with no sun?

Do you mean Yavanna put plants into a stasis after the lamps were destroyed?

My memory of this is very fuzzy, but I seem to remember that, at least in one version of the story, Yavanna put a sleep on all of her plants in ME because they could no longer get light, and that they woke up when light touched them again. So to answer your question, yes.