0413 



HAZEL. 



Family: AMENTACEAE. [Translator's note: now in Corylaceae or Betulaceae.] 

 Reproductive system: MONOECY, POLYANDRY. 



The common hazel, Corylus avellana, Linn., is a shrub that grows about twenty 

 feet tall. The stems are straight and branchy and the bark is grayish. The leaves are 

 alternate, petiolate, heart-shaped, toothed, and somewhat rough to the touch. The male 

 and female flowers are separate on the same plant. The male flowers form an elongated 

 pendent cylindrical catkin consisting of imbricate scales that are divided into three 

 unequal segments. They're in place of a calyx for the eight stamens that insert at their 

 base. The female flowers are red, sessile, and are situated at the ends of the shoots; 

 several join together in the same bud. Each flower has a calyx consisting of two large, 

 leathery upright leaflets lacerated on the margins and containing one, infrequently two, 

 seeds. 



FLOWERS: in February and March. 



RANGE: France and part of Europe. 



NOMENCLATURE. Some authorities hold that the name Corylus is derived from a 

 Greek word meaning helmet, hood, because of the cap formed by its calyx. In Old French 

 corylus was shortened to core, and subsequently became coudrier, coudre [Translator's 

 note: other French names for the hazel]. German, haselstaude, haselnuess. Dutch, 

 hazelaar, haselnoot. English, hazel-nut. Italian, nocello, nocciuolo. Russian, oreschnik. 

 Hungarian, mogyoro-fa. Armenian, frandik. 



USES. The hazel's wood is suitable for basket-making. It's used to make hoops and 

 wattles. It provides rods for holding up lines. In Saint-Claude boxes are made out of it 

 that have a pretty pale flesh-color. It's used in carpentry and in cabinetry in Paris. 

 Reduced to charcoal, it's used as an ingredient in gunpowder. 



Compressing the seeds or the kernels yields a very sweet oil. The Chinese are said 

 to put it in the tea they drink; 



