This is the second in our series that looks at the native trees of Britain. We begin with one of the earliest to set buds, one of the most widely used for its wood, nuts and medicinal benefits, and its long tradition in our folklore.
It is the Common Hazel Corylus avellana
The Hazel tree is a commonly seen tree throughout the UK. It prefers non-acidic, moist soil and is usually found in parklands, hedgerows, and woodlands where hazel forms the understory. It is a native deciduous tree from the Betulaceae family, which includes six genera of deciduous nut-bearing trees.
An un-coppiced Hazel can grow up to 12-15 meters in height and live up to 80 years. However, when coppiced, Hazel can thrive for several hundred years.
The bark of the Hazel is smooth with yellow pores and is usually light brown, becoming slightly darker with age, especially if left un-coppiced. The Hazel’s leaves are broad, almost circular, with a distinctive tip. The underside of the leaf has tiny, soft, downy hairs, while the outer edge features a slip-toothed and serrated appearance.
Hazel is monoecious, meaning that one tree has both male and female parts on the same tree. However, the tree requires pollen from a different Hazel tree for pollination, and they rely on wind pollination.
The male catkins emerge ahead of the leaf cover in January or February and hang in clusters towards the ends of the branches. A single catkin can have over 200 uni-sexual male flowers and drop off the tree after it releases pollen.
The female flowers are red and tiny and found in a flower bud on the branch above the catkin. Each flower has two crimson stigmas that stick out the top of it and are receptive to the pollen released from the male catkins. Once pollinated, each flower bud develops into a cluster of one to four hazelnuts.
The hazelnuts can be seen from late summer and ripen into Autumn. They start to fall in September as they darken a little, developing a woody brown shell.
Hazel trees are usually multi-stemmed in old woodlands, as they have been cut repeatedly every eight years on a rotation basis to produce ‘poles’ – this ancient craft is known as Coppicing.
Today, hazel coppice has become an important management strategy in conserving woodland habitats for wildlife.
Hazelnuts are a valuable food source for many wildlife species, and hazel trees provide valuable habitat for wildlife ranging from insects to small mammals. Several moth caterpillars rely heavily on the Hazel for survival; the leaves provide food, including the large emerald, small white wave, barred umber, and nut-tree tussock.
In woodlands where hazel is coppiced, the habitat is open and rich in wildflowers, providing the ideal environment for butterflies, especially fritillaries. The coppicing process involves cutting the hazel to ground level regularly. This allows extra light to reach the woodland floor, leading to a greater variety of flora and supporting a more comprehensive range of insect life. Coppiced hazel also provides a haven for ground-nesting birds, including nightingales, nightjars, yellowhammers and willow warblers.
Hazel trees are often associated with dormice, also known as hazel dormice. In spring, hazel leaves provide caterpillars, a good food source for the dormice. Later in autumn, hazelnuts become a significant food source for many small woodland creatures as well as the hazel dormouse; these include squirrels, voles, shrews, woodpeckers, nuthatches, tits, wood pigeons, and jays, as well as other small mammals.
The dense nutrition of hazelnuts helps these animals store energy and fat to survive the colder months. Hazel flowers also serve as an early pollen source for bees, but collecting the pollen can be challenging for the bees as hazel pollen is not sticky, and each grain repels against another.
Coppicing is a technique that helps the hazel tree’s longevity, but it can be threatened by grazing deer who like to eat the new growth, often known as shoots or development. Hazel trunks are often covered in mosses, liverworts, and lichens, while the fiery milkcap fungus grows beneath the soil.
Hazelnuts have been a staple food in human diets since the Stone Age. Archaeological excavations in Flanders, Belgium, discovered evidence that people roasted hazelnuts to preserve them throughout the winter season during the Stone Age.
Today, hazelnuts are grown as a food crop in many countries, including Turkey, Italy, Spain, and the US. You might be familiar with hazelnut chocolate spreads such as Nutella, pralines containing hazelnuts, and chopped hazelnuts for baking biscuits, cakes, pastries, desserts, and sweets.
The tree’s leaves have also been used as a source of nourishment. In the 15th century, Hazel leaves were used to make noteye, a spicy, slow cooked stew. In 18th-century Scotland, people ground Hazel leaves to make flour for biscuits and bread, while at the beginning of the 19th century, dried catkins were ground into flour in Slovakia.
According to some sources, hazelnuts contain 15% protein and are rich in fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals, including vitamins E and B (especially B6), zinc, iron, calcium, potassium, selenium, and magnesium.
Hazel nuts were once widely cultivated in the UK but have become less popular in the last hundred years. Today, Kent is the primary area where cultivated hazelnuts, known as ‘cobs, are grown, but most of the hazelnuts used in vegan, dairy-free milk and chocolate products are imported.
Foraging hazel nuts is possible as they are easy to identify and widely available in the British countryside. However, it is important to forage responsibly and only eat what you are sure is safe. If you are unsure about what you have found, it’s best to avoid it. Never eat something you cannot confidently identify.
Hazel has been used in herbal medicine as well.
Hazel flowers or catkins were used as a medicinal tea to treat colds and flu. Hazel bark decoction is said to help reduce fever, while the leaves can be used to stop diarrhoea. The bark has been used to treat cuts and boils, whilst the ash of burned Hazel is said to help with burns. Hazel leaves can stimulate blood circulation and bile secretion and are used in remedies for liver or gall bladder complaints.
The bark, leaves, flowers, catkins, and nuts are all considered astringent, wound healing, blood purifying, fever-fighting, and sweat-inducing. However, they have been used sparingly in herbal medicine. In the cosmetic industry, hazelnut oil is a nourishing ingredient in body and hand creams, lotions, soaps, and face masks.
Hazel has been used for traditional purposes, including fencing hurdles, walking sticks, baskets, furniture, and thatching spars. These products are still used today due to the tree’s versatility and longevity.
In folklore, the tree has a reputation for being magical. A hazel rod is believed to protect against evil spirits, and Historians have also noted that hazelnuts were once worn as charms, thought to bring good luck and ward off rheumatism symptoms.
During the Medieval era, the tree was believed to boost fertility, bring luck and crop growth in the upcoming year, and enhance fertility within the community.
In Celtic folklore, the hazel tree is associated with the goddess Brighid, who is believed to bring divine inspiration. Forked branches of hazel were, and still are, used for dowsing. An ancient belief in its protective qualities made a hazel staff the accessory of choice for pilgrims, shepherds, and other countryside wanderers. The air surrounding hazel trees is said to be magically charged with the quicksilver energy of exhilaration and inspiration.
The hazel tree has been a significant part of various cultures and mythologies. Hazel wands were considered magical and were used to make wishes. The Norse god Thor regarded the hazel as the Tree of Knowledge, while in Welsh and Irish folklore, it was believed to be a fairy tree.
The hazel was also found near holy wells and associated with Tara, the ancient seat of Irish kings. The legendary Irish warriors, the Fianna, used hazel sticks and shields for their defence.
The word “coll,” Scottish for hazel, is part of many place names, including the island of Coll, Barcaldine in Argyll, and Calton Hill in Edinburgh. Clan Colquhoun has the hazel as its clan badge, and in the Ogham tree alphabet, it represents the letter C.
The phrase “in a nutshell” comes from believing that hazelnuts contain bite-sized wisdom.
The hazel tree is so underrated today. It provides food and shelter for wildlife and can be an excellent source of protein and vitamin-packed food for us whilst being a source of everyday items made from hazelwood and medicine to heal us.
Of course, it is a beautiful tree and an essential part of the undercanopy of native broadleaved woodland, too.
Further Reading
Woodland Trust The Common Hazel
Wildlife Trusts Hazel is good for wildlife.
Wikipedia The Common Hazel
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