Hazel
Hazel
Tree
A bushy, many-stemmed tree that dangles golden 'lamb's-tail' catkins in late winter and ripens sweet hazelnuts in autumn — a feast for dormice, squirrels and jays.
💡 Fun Facts
- In the depths of winter, hazel hangs out dangly yellow catkins called 'lamb's-tails' — some of the very first flowers of the year.
- Its hidden female flowers are tiny crimson tufts, no bigger than a splash of nail varnish, that later grow into hazelnuts.
- Cut hazel down and it doesn't die — it springs back with a burst of new stems, a trick called coppicing that people have used for thousands of years.
📅 Through the Year
- Leaf-out:April
- Flowering:January to March
- Fruiting:September to October
- Leaf fall:October to November
Name Story
Corylus avellana
means “the helmet-nut tree of Avella”
What does its name mean?
- Corylus — hazel (from a word meaning 'helmet')Greek korys, 'helmet' — for the leafy husk that caps the nut
- avellana — of AvellaAvella, a town in Italy once famous for its nuts
Corylus comes from a Greek word for 'helmet' — each hazelnut sits in a ragged, leafy green husk that caps it like a little helmet. Avellana points to Avella, a town in Italy once famous for its delicious nuts.