Description:
A decidious Tree growing to 6m by 3m at a medium rate.
Hazel is typically a shrub reaching 3-8 m tall,
but can reach 15 m on occasion. The leaves are deciduous, rounded,
6-12 cm long and across, softly hairy on both surfaces, and with
a double-serrate margin.
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 fruit is a nut, produced in clusters of
one to five together, each nut held in a short leafy involucre
('husk') which encloses about three quarters of the nut. The
nut is roughly spherical to oval, 15-25 mm long and 12-20 mm
broad, yellow-brown with a pale scar at the base. The nut falls
out of the involucre when ripe, about 7-8 months after pollination.
It is readily distinguished from the closely related Filbert
(Corylus maxima) by the short involucre; in the Filbert the
nut is fully enclosed by a beak-like involucre longer than
the nut.
Distribution and habitat:
Woodland Garden; Secondary; Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade; Hedge.
The hazel is native to Europe, including Britain, from Norway
to Spain and east to W. Asia. It grows in woods and
Hedgerows,
especially on the slopes of hills, often on calcareous soils.
Hystory:
The name of the species, avellana is derived from Avellino,
a place in Italy.
The Common Hazel is an important component of the hedgerows
that were the traditional field boundaries in lowland England.
The wood was traditionally grown as coppice, the poles cut
being used for wattle-and-daub building and agricultural
fencing.
The hazelnut is growing in popularity in the USA with
a Hazelnut Council set up to promote its use. The harvesting
of hazelnuts is either by hand in rural communities, or
by manual or mechanical raking of fallen nuts.
Hazelnuts are extensively used in confectionery to make
praline and also used in combination with chocolate for
chocolate truffles and products such as Nutella.
In Austria and especially in Vienna hazelnut paste is
an important ingredient in the world famous torts (such
as Viennese hazelnut tort) which are made there.
Hazelnut is popular as a coffee flavoring, especially
in the form of Hazelnut latte. Hazelnut-flavored coffee
seems (to many users) to be slightly sweetened and less
acidic, even though the nut is low in natural saccharides.
The reason for such perception is not yet understood,
but might be due to synergistic interaction with components
of coffee.
Vodka-based Hazelnut liqueurs, such as Frangelico, are
also increasing in popularity, especially in the U.S.
and eastern Europe.
In the USA, hazelnut butter is being promoted as a more
nutritious spread than its peanut butter counterpart.
Parts used:
Hazelnuts.
Constituens:
Hazelnuts are rich in protein and unsaturated fat. Moreover,
they contain significant amounts of thiamine and vitamin B6,
as well as smaller amounts of other B vitamins. Additionally,
for those persons who need to restrict carbohydrates, 250 ml
of hazelnut flour has 20 g of carbohydrates, 12 g fibre, for
less than 10 net carbohydrates.
Edible Uses:
Edible Parts: Seed.
Edible Uses: Milk; Oil.
Seed - raw or roasted and used in breads, cakes, biscuits,
sweets etc. An excellent nut for raw eating. They can also
be liquidized and used as a plant milk. Rich in oil. The seed
ripens in mid to late autumn and will probably need to be protected
from squirrels. When kept in a cool place, and not shelled,
the seed should store for at least 12 months. A clear yellow
edible oil is obtained from the seed. It is used in salad dressings,
baking etc.
Medicinal Uses:
Anthelmintic;
Astringent;
Diaphoretic;
Febrifuge;
Nutritive;
Stomachic;
Tonic.
The bark, leaves, catkins and fruits are sometimes used medicinally.
They are
astringent,
diaphoretic,
febrifuge,
nutritive.
The seed is
stomachic and
tonic.
The oil has a very gentle but constant and effective action
in cases of infection with threadworm or pinworm in babies
and young children.
Others Uses:
Basketry;
Charcoal;
Cosmetict;
Hedge;
Miscellany;
Oil;
Plant support;
Polish;
Tannin;
Wood.
The seed contains up to 65% of a non-drying oil, used in paints, cosmeticts
etc. The whole seed can be used to
polish and
oil wood. It is very easy to apply and produces a nice finish.
The finely ground seeds are used as an ingredient of face
masks in cosmeticts.
Plants can be grown as a tall hedge.
They need to be left untrimmed or only lightly trimmed if seed
is required. The bark and leaves are a source of tannin.
Wood - soft, easy to split, not very durable, beautifully veined.
Used for inlay work, small items of furniture, hurdles, wattles,
basketry,
pea sticks etc. The twigs are used as dowsing rods by water
diviners. The wood also yields a good quality
charcoal,
used by artists.
Safety:
None known
