Hazel Leaf
Hazel is often coppiced, but when left to grow, trees can reach a height of 12m, where it can live for up to 80 years, if coppiced, hazel can live for several hundred years. It has a smooth, grey-brown, bark, which peels with age, and bendy, hairy stems. Leaf buds are oval, blunt and hairy. The leaves are round to oval, doubly toothed, hairy and pointed at the tip.
The Hazel is monoecious, meaning that both male and female flowers are found on the same tree, although 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.
Once pollinated by the wind, the female flowers develop into oval fruits, which hang in groups of one to four. They mature into a nut with a woody shell surrounded by a cup of leafy bracts.
Once pollinated by the wind, the female flowers develop into oval fruits, which hang in groups of one to four. They mature into a nut with a woody shell surrounded by a cup of leafy bracts.
The European hazel nut is among the most widely grown hazelnut plants for commercial production. The Hazel Leaf is known to have a mild immune system stimulant and is commonly used in various Smoking blends to add volume and taste.