Hazel
Hazel, common name applied to any of a genus of trees and shrubs of the birch family. Hazel trees grow throughout the temperate regions of Eurasia and North America. Each plant has separate male flowers borne in catkins and female flowers borne in clusters. The fruit, called the hazel, cobnut, or filbert, is ovoid in shape and is surrounded by an involucre of two green, leafy bracts fused together to form a tube. Commercially grown hazels or cobnuts come from the common hazel. This species is widespread in European woods and hedges. It has a long history of cultivation and is often planted in so-called nutwalks. Filberts come from a larger species with nuts completely enclosed in the involucres. Kent cobs come from a cultivar of this tree. Several species and varieties are grown as ornamental trees, particularly a form with contorted branches.
Scientific classification: Hazels belong to the family Betulaceae. The common hazel is classified as Corylus avellana, the filbert as Corylus maxima, and the ornamental with contorted branches as Corylus avellana "contorta".
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