Common Hazel is widespread throughout Exeter and is typically found amongst the hedgerows. It is usually a large shrub and quite happily grows under larger trees. It is a very useful plant as the fruit (Hazlenuts) can be eaten and the branches are very bendy, making them suitable for crafting. The wildlife value of Common Hazel is very high and many insects and animals use it in some way. Very common in Ash Birch and Oak woodlands.
Hazel is a deciduous broad-leaf tree / shrub native to the UK. Common Hazel is often coppiced, but when left to grow, trees can reach a height of 12 metres, where it can live for up to 80 years. If coppiced, it can live for several hundred years. Coppicing means cutting the tree / shrub to ground level to help stimulate growth. This is often done in woodland management. Below are some handy links:
Common Hazel shrub in May
The many stems and branches of a Common Hazel
.The leaves are round to oval, doubly toothed, hairy and pointed at the tip. Leaves turn yellow before falling in autumn. The leaves are soft to the touch as a result of the downy hairs on the underside
Close up of the leaves
Another Common Hazel shrub
PHOTOS
QUICK FACTS
  • Hazel is often coppiced, but when left to grow, trees can reach a height of 12 metres , where it can live for up to 80 years
  •  It is monoecious, meaning that both male and female flowers are found on the same tree
  • Hazel flowers must be pollinated by pollen from other hazel trees
  • The yellow male catkins appear before the leaves and hang in clusters, from mid-February.
  • Female flowers are tiny small red like buds. They are often missed due to how tiny they are
  • Pollen remains dormant for around 7 to 8 months (until May or June), when the fruit starts to develop
  • Once pollinated by wind, the female flowers develop into oval fruits, which hang in groups of one to four
  • Hazelnut is perennial plant that is able to bear fruit even after the age of 50 years
  • They mature into a nut with a woody shell surrounded by a cup of leafy bracts. Better known as Hazel nuts
  • Each tree produces 20 to 25 pounds of hazelnuts per year
  • Harvest of hazelnuts usually takes place from September to October
  • Hazelnuts are a rich source of mono-unsaturated fatty acids (type of heart-friendly fatty acids), dietary fibres, vitamins A, E and folic acid (B9) and minerals such as manganese, magnesium, phosphorus and iron. Good stuff!
  • Oil extracted from the hazelnuts is used as vegetable oil for cooking
  • Nutella is a great example of the use of Hazelnuts. This is the delicious chocolate spread that is widespread in stores
  • This oil also has application in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry and also in aromatherapy
  • Hazelnuts are used as flavouring agents of coffee and various alcoholic ("frangelico" liqueur) and non-alcoholic drinks
  • 748,000 metric tons of hazelnuts are produced each year. Nearly 75% of globally consumed hazelnuts originate from Turkey
  • It grows across much of Europe, parts of north Africa and western Asia
  • In the UK it's often found in the understorey of lowland oak, ash or birch woodland, and is also found in scrub and hedgerows
  • Hazel leaves provide food for the caterpillars of many moths, including the large emerald, small white wave, barred umber and nut-tree tussock
  • Coppiced hazel also provides shelter for ground-nesting birds such as the nightingale, nightjar, yellowhammer and willow warbler
  • Hazel has long been associated with the dormouse (also known as the hazel dormouse)
  • Hazel nuts are also eaten by woodpeckers, nuthatches, tits, wood pigeons, jays and a number of small mammals
  • Hazel flowers provide early pollen as a food for bees
  • Hazel has a reputation as a magical tree. A hazel rod is supposed to protect against evil spirits
  • Currently, hazel coppice has become an important management strategy in the conservation of woodland habitats for wildlife
  • Cultivation of hazelnuts started more than 5000 years ago, when people discovered nutritional and health benefits of this plant
  • Hazel was grown in the UK for large-scale nut production until the early 1900s
  • Cultivated varieties (known as cob-nuts) are still grown in Kent, but most of our hazelnuts are now imported
  • Coppiced hazel is susceptible to deer damage if not protected
  • Hazelnut is also known as filbert. The name probably originates from St. Philibert day, celebrated on the August 22, when harvest of hazelnuts usually starts
  • Ancient Greeks used hazelnuts in treatment of cough and baldness
  • Ancient Romans used torches made of branches of Hazelnut during the wedding ceremonies due to belief that hazelnut ensures long, happy and prospective marriage
PLEASE LEAF ME ANY FEEDBACK / COMMENTS
If there is anything out of place or wrong please contact me. Equally if there is anything you wish to add please let me know. The more information we have about Common Hazel the better. Many thanks!