Hazel

This article is about the tree; for other meanings of hazel, see Hazel (disambiguation).

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Corylus americana - American Hazel

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Corylus avellana - Common Hazel

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Corylus chinensis - Chinese Hazel

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Corylus colurna - Turkish Hazel

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Corylus cornuta - Beaked Hazel

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Corylus ferox - Himalayan Hazel

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Corylus heterophylla - Asian Hazel

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Corylus jacquemontii - Jacquemont's Hazel

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Corylus maxima - Filbert

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Corylus sieboldiana - Asian Beaked Hazel

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Corylus tibetica - Tibetan Hazel

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The hazels are a genus of about ten species of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere.

Related Topics:
Deciduous - Tree - Shrub

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The scientific name is Corylus (authenic Latin but derived from an ancient Greek name), and it is placed in the birch family Betulaceae, though some botanists split the hazels into a separate family Corylaceae.

Related Topics:
Greek - Birch - Betulaceae

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They have simple, rounded leaves with double-serrate margins. The flowers are produced very early in spring before the leaves, and are monoecious, with single-sex catkins, the male pale yellow and 5-12 cm long, the female very small and largely concealed in the buds, with only the bright red 1-3 mm long styles visible. The seeds are nuts 1-2.5 cm long and 1-2 cm diameter, surrounded by an involucre (husk) which partly to fully encloses the nut; the shape and structure of the involucre are important in the identification of the different species of hazel.

Related Topics:
Leaves - Flower - Monoecious - Catkin - Style - Seed - Nuts

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Hazels are used as food plants by the larvae of various species of Lepidoptera including Buff Arches, Large Emerald, Pale November Moth, Clouded Border, Dotted Border, Mottled Umber, Light Emerald and Buff-tip.

Related Topics:
Larva - Lepidoptera - Buff Arches - Large Emerald - Pale November Moth - Clouded Border - Dotted Border - Mottled Umber - Light Emerald - Buff-tip

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;Species

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The species are grouped as follows:

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• Nut surrounded by a soft, leafy involucre. Multi-stemmed, suckering shrubs to 12m tall.
• Involucre short, about the same length as the nut.
• Corylus americana - American Hazel, from eastern North America
• Corylus avellana - Common Hazel, from Europe, north Africa and west Asia
• Corylus heterophylla - Asian Hazel, from Asia
• Involucre long, twice the length of the nut or more, forming a 'beak'.
• Corylus cornuta - Beaked Hazel, of North America
• Corylus maxima - Filbert, of southeastern Europe and southwest Asia
• Corylus sieboldiana - Asian Beaked Hazel, from northeastern Asia and Japan
• Nut surrounded by a stiff, spiny involucre. Single-stemmed trees.
• Involucre moderately spiny and also with glandular hairs. Large trees to 35m tall.
• Corylus colurna - Turkish Hazel, from southeastern Europe and Asia Minor
• Corylus jacquemontii - Jacquemont's Hazel, from the Himalaya
• Corylus chinensis - Chinese Hazel, from West China
• Involucre densely spiny, resembling a chestnut burr. Medium-size trees to 20m tall.
• Corylus ferox - Himalayan Hazel, from the Himalaya.
• Corylus tibetica - Tibetan Hazel, from Tibet and southwest China.

Several hybrids exist, and can occur between species in different sections of the genus, e.g. Corylus x colurnoides (C. avellana x C. colurna).

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Hazel: Uses ►