Analysis if pollen
deposits in dated peat strata has confirmed that Hazel was on of
the dominant plants of the undergrowth in Pine Forests after the
Ice Age. This makes sense of the fact that one of the ancient
names for Scotland was "Caledonia", meaning Hill of the
Hazel ('Col' or 'Cal' is the Celtic word for Hazel and 'dun' means
hill - as in our modern 'dunes'). Name:
'Corylus' was the Greek name for a
Hazelbush.
'Avellana' is thought to refer to Avella Vecchia in
Southern Italy.  Cultivation:
Propagation can be by seed, tip-layering or radical suckers
and cutting. Hazels will grow in shade as well as in full sunlight
and are lime-tolerant. Grows 15 ft in 20 years. Hazel take
extremely well to being coppiced and if done properly this
practice can prolong the life of the Hazel considerably, since it
normally is a relatively short-lived tree. Hazels were often cut
every 7 years and could form enormous stools eventually.
Uses:
The nuts were of course eaten. It is rich in fatty
oils and vitamins. Weight for weight they contain 50% more
protein, 7x more fat and 5x more carbohydrate than hen's eggs.
The oil is multi-usable and has been employed for cooking or dressing
salads, as well as in oil paints, as a machine lubricant and in
making perfumery and cosmetics.
The wood of the Hazel is not long lasting, but since Hazel rods
are extremely pliable (and abundant), they have been used for a
great variety of purposes: basket work, wattle and daub frames,
hurdles to pen sheep and other fencing panels, thatching spars,
coracle frames (Coracles are the Celtic basket like boats), bender
poles (a bender is a temporary tent as used by travelers, peace
protesters and so on), hoops, fishing rods, walking sticks, broom
handles and so on
Forked hazel twigs are traditionally used for water divining.
Hazel Medicine:
The Hazel has not been as widely used in herbal
medicine as some of our other trees. Nevertheless the dried or
fresh leaves have a stimulating effect on the circulation and bile
production, as well having some diuretic properties. The leaves
have used in the past in some patent medicines for gall and liver
disorders. The 17th century herbalist Nicolas Culpepper wrote:
"The parted kernels made into an electuary or the milk drawn
from them with mead or honied water is good to help an old cough,
and a little pepper put in draws rheum from the head. The dried
husks and shells to the weight of two drams, taken in wine, stays
laxness and women's courses, the skin answers the same
purpose."
Hazel bark has been used as a substitute for Witch Hazel (see
below). This must work fine to some extent, since all tree barks
contain relatively large quantities of tannins. I would love to
hear from anyone with experience on this subject. |
The long male Hazel
Catkins are sometimes called 'lambs tails' The female
catkins are small and reddish on the same branch
|
History
and Treelore:
-
Before the second World War,
it was still quite common for people to harvest the nuts. Like
many other rural customs, this was often a communal affair
with whole villages going out and about. Timing is very
important. Too early and the nuts will lack taste and will not
store long. Too late and the jays and squirrels will have all.
People would take picnics and a drink of ale or cider. "Nutting"
used to be a euphism for "courting", and this
expression may originated in the fact that gathering nuts in
the woods and shrubland gave lots of opportunity for making
contact with the object of one's affection.
-
The Hazel used to be the only
proper edible Nut tree in Northern Europe and this gave it a
special place in folklore and tradition. The nut was seen as
powerful symbol of Wisdom. "All in a nutshell."
Wisdom comes from the old Anglo-saxon root "wissen"
which has a double meaning of 'knowledge' as well as
'growing'. Wisdom was seen as "growing power", it
was seen as a living process rather than 'dogma'.
-
Hazel was an important tree in
Irish mythology. It represented the letter 'Coll', which was
the ninth letter of the Irish Bardic Ogham alphabet. It gave
its name to a God named Mac Coll (son of Hazel), who according
to Keating's history of Ireland was one of the earliest rulers
Ireland, his brothers being Mac Ceacht (son of the plough) and
Mac Greine (son of the Sun). They celebrated a triple marriage
with the Triple Goddess of Ireland: Eire, Fodhla and Banbha.
-
Much more to come here when I
get time to write it up!
You
can click on the pictures below to enlarge them in a new window.
Close the window afterwards to return to this page
Other
species and varieties:
-
Corkscrew Hazel (Corylus
avellana 'Contorta') - Differs from the common Hazel
in that the twigs and branches have amazing twists and
contortions. A slow growing tree, which is a popular choice as
an ornamental garden tree, because it looks stunning in the
late winter/early spring with its catkins. Often easily
available at garden centres.
-
Filbert or Kentish Cob (Coryllus
maxima) - A native of Western Asia and South-Eastern
Europe, which was introduced here because of its larger nuts.
Like the Common Hazel this is a small tree eventually growing
up to 10 metres high. The leaves and the male catkins are
larger. Other differences are that the nut is more elongated
and the cup around it is longer.
-
Hybrids between the
Common Hazel and the Kentish Cob are seen.
-
Corylus maxima 'Purpurea'
is a purple-leaved variety, which is frequently grown for its
foliage.
-
Turkish Hazel or Turkish
Filbert (Corylus colurna) - In comparison with the
others, this is the 'giant' member of the Hazel family and
grows up to 80 ft high in a pyramidal shape in its native
lands. Everything is bigger on this tree, the bark has coarser
fissures, the hazels appear in clusters and the branching is
very level.. It was introduced to Britain along with the Horse
Chestnut in the 17th century . It is a sun-loving tree, which
thrives on hot summers and cold winters. Consequently it does
not fruit well in Britain and usually only grown as an
ornamental in parks and gardens.
-
Witch Hazels (Hamamelis
species). When European settlers arrived in North
America they mistook what is now known as Hamamelis
virginiana or Witch Hazel as a Hazel because of the
similarity in leaf and bushy habit. It turned out to have
great gifts as a medicinal plants (We
offer a page where you can read the entry for Witch
Hazel from "A Modern Herbal" by Mrs. M.
Grieve and Mrs. C.F.Leyel, published in 1931. Obviously
things have moved on since then, yet this book is still often
unsurpassed in its scope and depth of traditional knowledge.
The page pops up in a new window. Close it to return to the
Tree Gallery).
The American Witch Hazel
was introduced to Britain in the 1740's, but the nut does not
bear seeds in the UK. In Germany however, it has been
cultivated widely for the medicinal tonic properties of its
bark and leaves.
| Witch Hazels have
become popular as ornamental trees in Parks and gardens due to
their autumn or winter flowering (Yellow flowers rather than
catkins) and handsome habit. Chinese Witch Hazel (Hamamelis mollis)
was introduced to Britain in 1879. It flowers in Feb/March and
has lovely autumn foliage. This was later crossed with the
Japanese Witch Hazel (Hamamelis
japonica) to produce Hamamelis x intermedia. This is now
the most commonly grown of the Witch Hazels in the UK and has
given rise to dozens of cultivars. It has larger flowers than
its parents. |
Witch Hazel flowers. Some of
the cultivars have darker tints.
|
Note from webmother to
page visitors:
Many of these pages are still bare bones. Whenever time allows, we
will continue to add information to the Tree Gallery until all the
trees have descriptions of their habitat, characteristics,
cultivation, uses and anything else of interest. Email us if you
are keen to know more about a particular tree and we will do our
best to complete that one next.
|
