Tree of the Week

Week 5 - Corylus avellana; Hazel, Filbert

For the last couple of weeks Hazels (in Manchester) have been looking great because of the catkins, which are the best route to identification at this time. Like the example below, the trees are hung all over with these golden pollen-bearing catkins of about 5cm in length, held in groups of up to six or so. They look wonderful lit up by low winter sunshine. The hazel is usually more shrub than tree, especially coppiced specimens, which will be evident because of the many slim stems coming straight up from ground level. In summer the leaves are rounded in shape with toothed edges and a pointy end, and the nuts are usually held in clusters of 2 or 3. Don't count on seeing these, though, as urban squirrels usually take the female flowers or the developed nuts. Coppicing hazels to produce many stems of new wood for fencing materials or fuel wood is an ancient practice, recently attracting attention due to hazel's possible potential as a biofuel. It is an understory species in woodland and common in hedgerows.
There are good red/purple forms like Corylus avellana 'Zellernus', bottom right.