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Corylus avellana

(Common Filbert)

Overview

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Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Chinese:

Ou Zhen, Ou Zhou Zhen

Common Names in Danish:

Hassel, Hasselbusk, Hasselnød

Common Names in Dutch:

Hazelaar

Common Names in English:

Common Filbert, Hazel, Cobnut, Common Hazelnut, European Filbert, European Hazel, European Hazelnut, Giant Filbert, Hazelnut

Common Names in Finnish:

Tavallinen Pähkinäpensas

Common Names in French:

Avelinier, Avelline, Coudrier, Noisetier, Noisetier Commun, Noisetier Franc, Noisetier Tubuleux, Noisette

Common Names in German:

Gewöhnliche Hasel, Haselnuß, Haselstrauch, Lambertnuß, Lambertshasel, Zellernuß

Common Names in Greek:

Fountoukia

Common Names in Italian:

Avenalla, Cliperia (C Pontica), Nissola, Nizola, Nocchia, Nocchio, Nocchiola, Nocciolo, Nocciuolo, Nocciuolo Lopima, Nucella, Nucidda, Ollana, Vellana

Common Names in Japanese:

Heezeru Nattsu, Komon Heezeru, Seiyou Hashibami

Common Names in Portuguese:

Avelã, Aveleira, Aveleira-Comum

Common Names in Russian:

Leshchina Obyknovennaia (Leina Obyknovennaja), Oreshnik Obyknovennaia (Orenik Obyknovennaja)

Common Names in Spanish:

Avelaneira, Avellano, Avellano De Lambert

Common Names in Swedish:

Abellinisk Nöt, Filberthassel, Hasselnöt, Hazelträd

Description

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Family Betulaceae

Trees or shrubs deciduous, monoecious. Stipules present, free , often deciduous, rarely persistent . Leaves alternate, simple , petiolate , usually doubly serrate, rarely simply serrate, lobulate , or entire; veins pinnate. Flowers unisexual . Male inflorescence precocious , elongate , pendulous, with numerous overlapping bracts; each bract usually subtending a small dichasium with 1-3 male flowers; stamens as many as and opposite sepals or, if sepals obsolete , then stamens of inflorescence to 20; filaments very short, connate or nearly so; anthers 2-loculed, thecae connate or separate, opening by longitudinal slits. Female inflorescence pendulous or erect , with numerous overlapping bracts; each bract subtending a small dichasium with 2 or 3 flowers; calyx with 1-6 scalelike lobes , or obsolete; petals absent; ovary inferior, 2-loculed; styles 2, free; ovules 2, or 1 by abortion , pendulous from near apex of each locule. Fruit a nut or nutlet , winged or not. Seed 1, with straight embryo and flat or thickened cotyledons, without endosperm.

Six genera and 150-200 species: mainly in Asia, Europe, and North and South America; six genera (one endemic) and 89 species (56 endemic) in China.

Because of evolutionary divergence within the Betulaceae, the family has often been divided into tribes (i.e. , Betuleae, Carpineae, and Coryleae) or more recently into subfamilies (J. J. Furlow, J. Arnold Arbor . 71: 1-67. 1990) .[1]

Genus Corylus

Shrubs and trees , 3--15 m ; tree trunks usually 1, branching mostly deliquescent, trunks and branches terete . Bark grayish brown, thin, smooth , close, breaking into vertical strips and scales in age; prominent lenticels absent. Wood nearly white to light brown, moderately hard, heavy, texture fine. Branches, branchlets , and twigs nearly 2-ranked to diffuse ; young twigs differentiated into long and short shoots . Winter buds sessile, broadly ovoid , apex acute; scales several, imbricate, smooth. Leaves on long and short shoots, 2-ranked. Leaf blade broadly ovate with 8 or fewer pairs of lateral veins, 4--12 × 3.5--12 cm, thin, bases often cordate, margins doubly serrate, apex occasionally nearly lobed ; surfaces abaxially usually pubescent , sometimes glandular . Inflorescences: staminate catkins on short shoots lateral on branchlets, in numerous racemose clusters , formed previous growing season and exposed during winter, expanding well before leaves; pistillate catkins distal to staminate catkins, in small clusters of flowers and bracts, reduced, only styles protruding from buds containing them at anthesis , expanding at same time as staminate. Staminate flowers in catkins 3 per scale, congested ; stamens 4, divided nearly to base to form 8 half-stamens; filaments very short, adnate with 2 bractlets to bract. Pistillate flowers 2 per bract. Infructescences compact clusters of several fruits, each subtended and surrounded by involucre of bracts, bracts 2, hairy [spiny ], expanded, foliaceous , sometimes connate into short to elongate tube . Fruits relatively thin-walled nuts, nearly globose to ovoid, somewhat laterally compressed , longitudinally ribbed . x = 11.

Species ca. 15: throughout north temperate zone; North America, Europe, Asia.

Corylus differs from other Betulaceae in various features, most notably in the infructescences, which consist of small clusters of well-developed nuts, each enclosed by a loose involucre of leaflike bracts. As in Ostrya, the staminate catkins are formed during the summer and are exposed through the winter prior to anthesis. In Corylus, however, pistillate catkins develop at the same time as the staminate, and they consist of only a few flowers, protected by the scales of special buds rather than being arranged in elongate pistillate catkins. The staminate flowers are unique in the family in that well-developed sepals are occasionally present, clearly defining the three individual flowers that make up each cymule .

A longstanding disparity occurs in the literature regarding the diploid chromosome number found in Corylus species, with both 2 n = 22 and 2 n = 28 being cited. J. G. Packer (pers. comm. ) believes that the 2 n = 28 for several species (R. H. Woodworth 1929c) was in error because of a misinterpretation of Woodworth's meiotic preparations, a number of which actually indicate eleven haploid chromosomes. Woodworth's count may be largely, if not entirely responsible for the persistence of this number in the literature.

The genus consists of three major subgroups, the first composed of shrubby plants having a short, open involucre of two bracts surrounding the fruits ( Corylus sect. Corylus ). Members of Corylus sect. Tuboavellana Spach are of similar habit but have the involucre modified into a tubular beak , and Corylus sect. Acanthochlamnys Spach is characterized by densely spiny bracts. Recent treatments have avoided applying sectional names . The genus as a whole should be considered for taxonomic revision .

Corylus is the source of hazelnuts and filberts. Commercial filberts ( C. colurna Linnaeus and C. maxima Miller) are cultivated in various parts of the world, particularly Turkey, Italy, Spain, China, and the United States. Wild hazelnuts ( C. americana and C. cornuta ) are smaller but similar in flavor to those of the cultivated species.[2]

Physical Description

Species Corylus avellana

Shrubs , broadly spreading , to 5(--8) m. Bark coppery brown, smooth , sometimes exfoliating in thin papery strips. Branches ascending ; twigs pubescent , covered with bristly glandular hairs . Winter buds containing inflorescences ovoid , 5--6 × 3--4 mm, apex obtuse . Leaves: petiole pubescent, covered with bristly glandular hairs. Leaf blade broadly ovate to broadly elliptic , often nearly angled to lobulate near apex, 5--12 × 4--12 cm, moderately thin, base narrowly cordate to narrowly rounded , margins coarsely and doubly serrate, apex abruptly acuminate, abaxially sparsely to moderately pubescent, velutinous to tomentose along major veins and in vein axils. Inflorescences: staminate catkins lateral along branchlets on relatively long short shoots , usually in clusters of 2--4, 3--8 × 0.7--1 cm; peduncles mostly 5--12 mm. Nuts in clusters of 2--4; bracts much enlarged, distinct nearly to base, expanded, shorter than to only slightly longer than nuts, apex deeply lobed ; bract surfaces pubescent. 2 n = 22, 28. [source]

Corylus avellana is widely grown as an ornamental shrub in temperate North America, and it sometimes persists following cultivation, although it seldom becomes established . [source]

Corylus avellana is similar to C. americana in habit, leaves, and fruit characteristics, although it becomes much larger. If fruits are present, the two species can be distinguished by the involucre, which is shorter than the nut in C. avellana. The best technical character for separating these species in the absence of fruits is the length of the peduncles of the staminate catkins (which are formed during the summer prior to the season of blooming). [source]

ID Features: Alternate leaf arrangement. Pubescent leaves. Suckering habit. Nut with an involucre covering. Large male catkins in spring. Twigs are bristly-hairy and rough to the touch.

Habit: A deciduous small tree or large shrub . Most often develops numerous upright stems from the roots , creating a thicket. Generally maintains an overall upright shape with a rounded head .

Flowers: Monoecious , with male and female flowers. Male flowers are large 2" to 3" pendulous catkins in 3's mostly. Blooming in late winter and early spring . Female flowers are small and inconspicuous. • Bloom Period: February. • Flower Color: cream, tan

Seeds: Fruit: A nut about 0.75" long, set in an involucre. The distinctive husks (involucre) are somewhat noticeable in late summer. and autumn. Fruit (nut) is edible and is grown as a commercial crop .

Foliage: Summer foliage: Alternate, simple leaves. 2" to 4" long and 1.5' to 3" wide. Broadly ovate in shape . Doubly serrate margins . Leaves slightly pubescent above, pubescent below. Leaves mature to dark green. • Fall foliage: Reddish.

Size/Age/Growth

Size: typically 12' to 15' tall as a mature plant.

Landscaping

Landscape Uses: As a specimen. In small groupings. For difficult, dry sites. For edible fruit. As a barrier . For naturalistic areas. For hedging. • Liabilities: Most notable liability is with selections that are grafted onto seedling. stocks. The understocks usually sucker badly, creating a maintenance need..

Habitat

Abandoned plantings , roadsides, thickets, waste places; 0--700 m [3].

Zone 4.

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 3,312 meters (0 to 10,866 feet).[4]

Ecology: List of Habitats :

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Biology

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Reproduction

Duration: Perennial

Growth

Culture: An adaptable plant. Does well on poor, dry soils. Full sun is best; also tolerates shade well. Selected clones are grafted and root suckers may need to be removed. regularly.

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full sun .

Taxonomy

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Last Revised: 2012-05-01