most abundant on the moderately fertile but stony soils of slopes and on dry 

 and rocky islands or along stream banks. It prefers cool, shaded sites on 

 northern slopes, along streams, or conifer or oak forests where it, forms an 

 understory. It also: grows in the open, particularly on burned or cut-over 

 lands. In the coastal mountains, as well as toward the northern extremity of 

 its range, it grows at low elevations, but occurs at increasingly higher situa- 

 tions inland until, at the southern extension of the Sierras, it appears at 

 from ,3,000 to 6,000 feet above sea level. Pacific dogwood (Cornus wuttallii) 

 and bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllwm) are its most common associates. 



As a browse plant California hazel is not important, being relatively low 

 in palatability. Its palatability on properly utilized range is usually poor 

 for cattle and only poor to fair for sheep; it is but slightly used by deer. 

 The leaves are somewhat hairy, commonly having an almost velvety feeling 

 to the touch ; it may be this character which displeases grazing animals. Un- 

 questionably, California hazel would be an ideal browse if the foliage were 

 more palatable, because it is often abundant, the growth is open, low, and 

 spreading, and the many stems are well clothed with relatively large leaves, 

 thus providing a considerable volume of leafage within reach of livestock. 



This species has certain other values and uses, being valuable as a soil 

 binder on steep slopes, both as an understory in the forest and on open, un- 

 timbered sites. This value is enhanced by the fact that it sprouts abundantly 

 from the root crown after the tops have been destroyed by fire or other 

 causes. The edible nuts have a sweet flavor and are gathered locally, al- 

 though a poor crop or early harvest by chipmunks and squirrels often limit 

 the local supply. The Indians formerly used splints for basket manufacture 

 from the slender one- and two-year-old shrubs. The glandular hairs (spioulac) 

 on the involucre have been used as a remedy for worms. 1 



The California hazel is a handsome shrub, sometimes attaining a height of 

 over 20 feet but usually grows not over one-half that high. The many stems 

 are sparsely branched, leafy, and slender, and are gracefully disposed to form 

 a full and rounded bush. The catkins appear before the leaves during Febru- 

 ary and March, but the nuts do not ripen until fall. 



HAZELS (Co'rylus spp.) 



The hazels, like their near relatives, the alders (Alrms spp.) and the birches 

 (Betula spp.), belong to the birch family (Betulaccae) ? Tidestrom 3 has 

 shown that the scientific name Corylus is related to the Gaelic (Irish) and 

 Celtic names for this genus, and that it stood for the letter O in the tree alpha- 

 bet of these peoples. The alders and birches are readily distinguishable from 

 hazels because the fruit of the latter is a nut inclosed in a helmetlike involu- 

 cre, whereas the fruit of alders and birches is a small, winged nutlet not 

 enclosed in an involucre. Approximately 15 species of hazel are native to 

 North America, Europe, and Asia ; about half of these occur in North America, 

 but only two, California hazel and beaked hazel (Cf. rostra' ta), occur in the 

 West. 



Beaked hazel has taper-pointed leaves, hairless or slightly hairy twigs, and 

 a densely stiff-hairy involucre twice as long as the nut, with the lower por- 

 tion surrounding the nut. This species is common in eastern North America, 

 extending west to Colorado and the Dakotas, but probably has little or no 

 range significance. Some authorities report beaked hazel as occurring on 

 the Pacific coast, but all herbarium material from this area appears to be 

 California hazel. There is some evidence that the two types tend to merge, 

 and the position taken by some botanists that California hazel is a variety 

 of the beaked hazel, rather than a distinct species, may be sound taxonomically. 



The filbert nuts of commerce, fruit of the European species, C. avellana, C. 

 pontica. (syn. C. avellana pontica), and C. maxima, or the product of cross- 

 breeds of these species, are cultivated extensively in Europe, but are not 

 grown on an extensive scale in North America. 



1 Lyons, A. B. PLANT NAMES SCIENTIFIC AND POPULAR . . . Ed. 2, thoroughly rev. and 

 enl., 630 pp. Detroit. 1907. 



2 Because of the involucred fruit, however, some botanists prefer to place the hazels in 

 the family Corylaceae in which are also placed the hornbeams (Carpinus spp.) and hop- 

 hornbeams (Ostrya spp.). 



* Tidestrom, I. THE FLORAL ALPHABET OF THE CELTS. Torreya 23 : 41-49, illus. 1923. 



