Corylus avellana - Hazel
Squirrels and other animals are very fond of hazel nuts, which ripen in
September and October. The hazel more often forms a bush, but trees to
eight metres or so can be seen occasionally. Coppiced hazel was used for
making sheep hurdles (fence panels for penning sheep in prior to dipping
or shearing).
In late winter the hazel catkins develop. The
sheep-tail-like catkins are actually the male flowers. Blooming in early
spring, the tiny red female flower is easily overlooked - an example is
just visible in the picture below.
The leaves appear after the catkins. They have a few soft
hairs on the upper surface and are more hairy beneath, and they alternate
along the stems. Hazel nuts often grow in clusters of two, three or four,
and are usually between 1 and 1.5 cm across. Cultivated variants, such as
Filberts (Corylus maxima) and Kentish Cobs have larger nuts.
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