The Hazel Family (Corylaceae)
	Family Description	These are deciduous trees and shrubs. The male flowers grow in slender pendant catkins and the female flowers grow in clusters. The fruit is a nut, surrounded by a jagged green covering. All of the plants in this group are pollinated by the wind, which blows male pollen to the female flowers.
	Hazel Corylus avellana	Hazel grows as a small shrub or tree and is often found in woodlands. Much Hazel has been planted over the last three hundred years, and it has become an important part of hedgerows. It is usually coppiced. One benefit of coppicing is that it lets light reach the forest floor and so allows flowers to grow and encourages nesting birds. The seed is a nut - called the hazelnut or cob nut. A closely related Hazel species - Corylus maxima is grown for its delicious nuts, especially in Kent, where the climate and soil particularly suit it.
	Habitat	Woods and hedgerows.
	Special features	The bark is a shiny grey-brown with horizontal rows of pores and often with flaking strips. The leaves are hairy to the touch, broadest in the middle and deep green.
	Reproduction	Male catkins, hang in tassels of two or four. They turn yellow and release their pollen at the same time as the small bud-like female flowers appear. The female flowers are small, upright and hidden, except for the long red styles, which poke out of the top. Nuts develop, which contain the fertilised seed. The nuts grow on their own or in clusters. They are edible and delicious for all sorts of animals. Animals help to spread the nuts.
	Distribution	Seasonal Hazel produces flowers from January to March. Geographical Found throughout most of Britain, except for the Shetland Islands.
	Folklore	The Hazel tree has always been thought of as a magical tree in Britain. In Ireland, it was thought of as the tree of knowledge. It was also thought to protect against evil spirits. If kept in your pocket, it is supposed to ward off rheumatism. A double nut (two nuts on one stalk) was supposed to cure toothache in Devonshire. In Scotland, people used to throw "double nuts" at supposed witches.
	Fun Fact	Squirrels and Jays pick and store Hazel nuts under the soil. Sometimes, they will forget where they hid the nut. So instead of becoming a squirrel's supper, the Hazelnut has a chance to develop into a new Hazel tree.