|
|
|
 Sent
to you
by e-mail
|
|
Simply
enter your details and hit the send button
more
info |
|
Click Here
Links
Advertise
Terms of Use
Contributors
About Us
Contact Us
|
 |
Go back
| Bookmark
| Print Page 
| E-Mail Us 
 
Photo: G. Bradley
|
|
UK
Safari Tip:
Need help identifying trees? Try the colourful fold out chart called
"Tree Name Trail" from the Nature Shop - click
here
|
|
Latin name: Corylus avellana
Size: Grows to approximately 6 metres
Distribution: Found throughout the UK.
Flowering Months: The male flowers are long yellow catkins, known as 'lamb's tails'. They first appear around
late October to early November, and are short and green (See Picture). Between February and April they open up to release their pollen (See Picture). The female flowers, which grow on the same tree, are small, red and bud-like in appearance. It is the female flowers which develop into the hazel or cob nuts. The flowers appear before the leaves.
Special features: The hazel tree can be seen almost anywhere in Britain
in the under wood, beneath the large oaks and beech trees. It's leaves (See Picture) are
rounded, pointed at the end, and hairy on both sides. They have jagged toothed
edges.
Where the wood is managed, the hazel tree is usually kept as a coppiced shrub. Coppicing is a system of cutting the stems of the tree back to ground level every few years. This provides a crop of supple timber, used for many woodland crafts, and it also encourages the tree to produce several new, straight stems.
The hazel nuts are also harvested, and are a popular addition to chocolate confectionary. The nuts also attract many species of wildlife including squirrels, wood mice and dormice.
UK Safari Tree Section
|
|
|
