Hazel

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Hazel

The hazels (Corylus) are a genus of deciduous

Deciduous

Deciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe....
tree

TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
s and large shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
s native to the temperate northern hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch

Birch

Birch is the name of any tree of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae....
family Betulaceae

Betulaceae

Betulaceae, or the Birch Family, includes six genera of deciduous nut -bearing trees and shrubs, including the birches, alders, hazels, hornbeams and hop-hornbeams, numbering about 130 species....
, though some botanists split the hazels (with the hornbeam

Hornbeam

Plants in the genus Carpinus are commonly called Hornbeams. They are relatively small hardwood trees. Many botanists place the hornbeams in the birch family Betulaceae, though some group them with the hazels and hop-hornbeams in a segregate family, Corylaceae....
s and allied genera) into a separate family Corylaceae.Hazel plants prefer a nice warm, mild,moist climate nothing more nothing less.

They have simple, rounded leaves

Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
with double-serrate margins.

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Encyclopedia

The hazels (Corylus) are a genus of deciduous

Deciduous

TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
s and large shrub

Shrub

Birch

Birch is the name of any tree of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae....
family Betulaceae

Betulaceae

Hornbeam

They have simple, rounded leaves

Leaf

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproduction structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds....
s are produced very early in spring before the leaves, and are monoecious

Plant sexuality

Plant sexuality covers the wide variety of sexual reproduction systems found across the plant kingdom. This article describes Morphology aspects of sexual reproduction of plants....
, with single-sex catkin

Catkin

A catkin or ament is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster, with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind-pollination but sometimes insect pollinated ....
s, 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 seed

Seed

A seed is a small Plant embryogenesis plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some Food storage. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant....
s are nuts

Nut (fruit)

Nut is a general term for the large, dry, oily seed or fruit of some plant. While a wide variety of dried seeds and fruits are called nuts, only a certain number of them are considered by biologists to be true nuts....
1–2.5 cm long and 1–2 cm diameter, surrounded by an involucre (husk) which partly to fully encloses the nut.

The shape and structure of the involucre, and also the growth habit (whether a tree or a suckering shrub), are important in the identification of the different species of hazel.

Species

There are 14–18 species of hazel. The circumscription of species in eastern Asia is disputed, with the Kew Checklist and the Flora of China differing in which taxa are accepted; within this region, only those taxa accepted by both sources are listed below. The species are grouped as follows:

Nut surrounded by a soft, leafy involucre. Multi-stemmed, suckering shrub
Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
s to 12m tall.

Involucre short, about the same length as the nut.

Corylus americana
Corylus americana

The American Hazelnut is a species of the genus Hazel that is native to eastern North America.It is a medium to large shrub that under some conditions can take the form of a small tree....
— American Hazel. Eastern North America.
Corylus avellana — Common Hazel. Europe and western Asia.
Corylus heterophylla
Corylus heterophylla

The Asian Hazel is a species of hazel native to eastern Asia, from northern China, eastern Mongolia, Korea, Japan, and southeastern Siberia.It is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing to 7 m tall, with plant stem up to 20 cm thick grey bark....
— Asian Hazel. Asia.
Corylus yunnanensis
Corylus yunnanensis

Corylus yunnanensis is a species of hazelnut found in western China. It is a small tree or shrub. The flowers have triglar shaped petals. The round nuts which are encased in a very tough oval shaped shell and can be consumed by humans....
— Yunnan Hazel. Central and southern China.

Involucre long, twice the length of the nut or more, forming a 'beak'.

Corylus colchica
Corylus colchica

Corylus colchica is species of hazelnut. It can tolerate more frost than many others of its genus. It produces small edible nuts in September....
— Colchican Filbert. Caucasus.
Corylus cornuta — Beaked Hazel. North America.
Corylus maxima — Filbert. Southeastern Europe and southwest Asia.
Corylus sieboldiana — Asian Beaked Hazel. Northeastern Asia and Japan (syn. C. mandshurica).

Nut surrounded by a stiff, spiny involucre. Single-stemmed trees to 20–35 m tall.

Involucre moderately spiny and also with glandular hairs.

Corylus chinensis — Chinese Hazel. Western China.
Corylus colurna — Turkish Hazel. Southeastern Europe and Asia Minor.
Corylus fargesii — Farges' Hazel. Western China.
Corylus jacquemontii — Jacquemont's Hazel. Himalaya.
Corylus wangii — Wang's Hazel. Southwest China.

Involucre densely spiny, resembling a chestnut burr.

Corylus ferox — Himalayan Hazel. Himalaya, Tibet and southwest China (syn. C. tibetica).

Several hybrids exist, and can occur between species in different sections of the genus, e.g. Corylus × colurnoides (C. avellana × C. colurna).

Uses

The nuts of all hazels are edible. The Common Hazel is the species most extensively grown for its nuts, followed in importance by the Filbert. Nuts are also harvested from the other species, but apart from the Filbert, none is of significant commercial importance.

A number of cultivar

Cultivar

A cultivar is a cultivated plant that has been selected and given a unique name because of its decorative or useful characteristics; it is usually distinct from similar plants and when Plant propagation it retains those characteristics....
s of the Common Hazel and Filbert are grown as ornamental plant

Ornamental plant

Ornamental plants are typically grown in the flower garden or as house plants. Most commonly they are grown for the display of their flowers. Other common ornamental features include leaves, scent, fruit, Plant stem and bark....
s in garden

Garden

A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials....
s, including forms with contorted stems (C. avellana 'Contorta', popularly known as "Harry Lauder

Harry Lauder

Sir Henry Lauder , known professionally as Harry Lauder, was a notable Scotland entertainer, described by Sir Winston Churchill as "Scotland's greatest ever ambassador!"...
's walking stick" from its gnarled appearance); with weeping branches (C. avellana 'Pendula'); and with purple leaves (C. maxima 'Purpurea').

Hazels are used as food plants by the larva

Larva

A larva is a young form of animal with indirect developmental biology, going through or undergoing metamorphosis .The larva can look completely different from the adult form, for example, a caterpillar differs from a butterfly....
e of various species of Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is an order of insect that includes moths and butterfly. It is one of the most speciose orders in the class Insecta, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterfly, skipper , and Hedylidae....
; see list of Lepidoptera that feed on hazels.