Hazel – Root and Branch Review
waiting for photo – if you have a suitable image let us know
Corylus are large shrubs or trees that produce nuts. The common ‘hazel’ is native to the UK and is often found in old hedge rows.
Key Features of the Hazel
- Latin name – Corylus avellana
- Height – up to 40 feet
- Type of tree – Deciduous
- Leaves – Green, round and double toothed
- Flowers – Male long catkins female small bud like with red stigma on same tree.
- Fruit – Nut surrounded by husk
- Bark – Silver-grey to pale brown
- Family – Corylaceae related to beech
Origins and Distribution of the Hazel
- Found throughout Europe and North Africa.
- Thrives in woodland and hedges.
Uses and Attributes of the Hazel
- Hazel has the ability to produce multiple stems.
- Extensively used for coppicing to make hurdles, hoops for baskets and woven wattle .
- Valuable for the crop of edible Hazelnuts
- Hazel stems can be split lengthways and bent back on themselves to make a hedge.
- Used in the garden as pole and sweetpea supports
Gardeners Tips for the Hazel
- Two trees are needed for fertilisation if you want nuts.
- Tall straight stems can be used to support plants in the garden.
- Useful as a tall screening shrub or small tree
Other types of Hazel and key species
- Corylus colchican produces a nut called a Filbert..
- There are 15 species of Hazel but the common hazel produces most of the nut crop.
- There are a number of cultivars now available.
- Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’ is called the corkscrew hazel and is grown as an ornamental shrub or small tree
Hazel comments from elsewhere
- See growing nuts in the UK.
- After coppicing the growth of successive new stems leads to the formation of a large base, or stool, which can be up to 6 feet in diameter and in this way hazels can live for several hundred years.
- Hazel is an important host for lichens and provides food for some moths.
Read about our series on British tree reviews with a bakers dozen fact sheets
Credits
Hazel DSCF8046 by hedgerowmobile CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Hazel flower by Deanster1983 CC BY-ND 2.0 This hazel flower is a female – the male flowers are the well known and much more obvious “Lamb’s Tail” catkins. I think this flower resembles some sort of Sea Anemone!
A lot of nuts – 73/365 by Wahlander CC BY-NC 2.0