Entwives

[lathspell]

Yes, I think it was an entwife as well, because it is so clearly said that he saw a 'walking tree'. Another reason is that Treebeard makes Merry and Pippin describe the Shire over and over and asks them if they had ever seen any Entwives there.

He made them describe the Shire and it's country over and over again. He said an odd thing about this point. 'You have never seen any, hm, any Ents round there, do you?' he asked. 'Well, not Ents, Entwives I should really say.'
'Entwives?' said Pippin. 'Are they like you at all?'
'Yes, hm, well no: I do not really know now,' said Treebeard thoughtfully. 'But they would like your country, so I just wondered.'

What I think most interesting in this phrase is the 'but they would like your country'-part. According to this and the things said above I think that it was an entwive, which Sam's cousin saw.

Durelen - great quote. But it seems that Tolkien himself wasn't quiet so sure about the entwives according to the last sentences. He speaks of some ideas about them, but in the end he says: 'I don't know'.

VanimaEdhel - Are you speaking of the Old Forest, about the trees 'being alive' out there. I think those were Huorns, because Old Man Willow was one himself and quiet a powerful one, controlling the others. (I believe I read this somewhere and some phrases in LotR made me think so as well).

greetings,
lathspell