Corylus
avellana
(Hazel)  Corylus
avellana is better known as the ever-popular
hazel. This deciduous shrub is widespread throughout
Ireland, often found growing in hedgerows or
as an understorey in oak and ash woods.
The
Woodland Trust has no hesitation in recommending
hazel as the perfect addition to any garden.
It’s a bushy, multi-stemmed shrub which
generally won’t grow more than six metres
in size. This makes it suitable for even the
more modest-sized garden. While wonderful as
an individual shrub, hazel can also be used
to form a hedge, making the perfect living boundary.
 Hazel
has rather distinctive oval, almost round, leaves.
The light green leaf is slightly hairy, has
a rather wrinkled appearance, a pointed tip
and a jagged edge.
The shrub is perhaps, however, best known for
its colourful spring catkins (tight clusters
of tiny flowers). The male catkins are striking;
they are bright yellow in colour and hang down,
it is said, like ‘lambs’ tails’.
The female catkins are much smaller and look
more like leaf buds, with protruding red tufts
(or styles). The fruit grow from these small
bud-like structures and ripen in October as
brown, hard-shelled and highly desirable hazel
nuts. The nuts are a popular source of food
for a range of contenders, including mice, squirrels
and some larger birds.
Things you may not know about Hazel:
Hazel
bushes are often coppiced – that’s
cut right back to a stump. The bush does re-grow,
and the slender, strong, timber provided has
a wide range of uses, from fencing to basketry.
The
hazel has always had special, perhaps mystic
associations, and is thought to ward off evil
spirits.
A
hazelnut carried in the pocket is believed to
keep away rheumatism and back pain.
You
may or may not believe in its ability to ward
off harmful spirits and keep rheumatism at bay.
But whatever your view, you’re sure to
adore this shrub. With its distinctive ‘lambs’
tails’ and edible autumn hazel nuts, hazel
surely deserves a place in any gardeners' corner.
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