Scientific name: Corylus avellana L.
Common name: Hazel
Description
Habit: A woody shrub, to 6 m high.
Leaves: Alternate, deciduous, shortly stalked; undivided, round to broadly oval, obtuse or shortly pointed, softly hairy on both sides, toothed, 6-10 cm across.
Flowers: Catkins appearing before the leaves; male catkins up to 8 cm long, slender, pendulous, bracts hairy, each with a single flower in its axil consisting of 8 stamens; female catkins stalkless, very small, bud-like, bracts hairy, each with 2 flowers in its axil, stigmas 2, red.
Fruits: A nut, 15 mm long, surrounded by leafy and irregularly toothed bracts.
Twigs: Hairy; winter buds stalkless, short, rounded, greenish-brown.
Bark: Smooth, pale brown.
Habitat: Scrub, woodland, cliffs, limestone.
Distribution: Dominant in scrub over wide areas, less dominant in mixed woodland, rarely on cliffs; very abundant on sheltered parts of limestone; frequent elsewhere.
Native status: Native
Of conservation interest: No