In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the Two Trees of Valinor are Telperion and Laurelin, the Silver Tree and the Gold Tree, which brought light to Valinor, a paradisiacal realm also known as the Undying Lands where angelic beings lived. The Two Trees were apparently of enormous stature, and exuded dew that was a pure and magical light in liquid form. They were destroyed by the evil beings Ungoliant and Melkor, but their last flower and fruit were made into the Moon and the Sun. Commentators have seen mythic and Christian symbolism in the Two Trees; they have been called the most important symbols in the entire legendarium. Creation and destruction The first sources of light for all of Tolkien's imaginary world, Arda, were two enormous Lamps on the central continent, Middle-earth: Illuin, the silver one to the north, and Ormal, the golden one to the south. They had been created by the Valar, powerful spirit beings, but were cast down and destroyed by the Dark Lord Melkor. The Valar retreated to Valinor to make their home on the western continent, and there one of them, Yavanna the Vala of living things, sang into existence the Two Trees to provide a new pair of light-sources. Again one was silver and the other golden. Telperion was referred to as male and Laurelin female. The Trees stood on the hill Ezellohar located outside the city of the Valar, Valimar. They grew in the presence of all of the Valar, watered by the tears of the Vala of pity and mourning, Nienna. Telperion had leaves that were dark green on their upper surface and silver on their lower. His blossoms were white like that of cherry and his silvery dew was collected as a source of water and of light. Laurelin had leaves of a young green, similar to the colour of newly opened beech leaves, trimmed with gold, and her dew was likewise collected by the Vala of light Varda. Each Tree, in turn, would give off light for seven hours (waxing to full brightness and then slowly waning again), with the ends of their cycles overlapping so that at one hour each of "dawn" and "dusk" soft gold and silver light would be given off together. In total, therefore, one "day" of first silver then gold light lasted twelve hours. Countless numbers of these "days" had passed by when Melkor reappeared.