Corylus avellana

Overview

Corylus avellana is a plant known as European hazel or hazelnut. Rounded leaves with coarse double teeth stand out on its spreading shrub form. Explore this familiar nut-bearing plant beyond its fruit, through leaves and flower clusters.^[1][3]

Key facts

There are smaller teeth on the leaf’s larger teeth. Species accounts describe coarse double serrations along the margin and a tip that narrows abruptly to a point. The base of the broad leaf varies from narrowly heart-shaped to rounded.^[1]

Time and place

This temperate shrub or tree is alive today. Kew gives its native range as Europe to the Caucasus. Modern distribution can be compared with observation records from several regions.^[2]

The time range describes source context, not the complete duration of this species.

Size, form and skeleton

A flora describes a spreading shrub usually reaching 5 m, sometimes up to 8 m tall. Leaves range from broadly egg-shaped to oval, with distinctive bases and tips. Large veins and double-toothed margins can be examined together.^[1]

Habitat and reproduction

This plant grows in temperate regions. An account of the genus Corylus explains that male catkins form during the preceding growing season, remain visible in winter, and open before the leaves. Compare how leaves and flowers appear through the seasons.^[2][3]

Fossil discovery

The current scientific name is traced to Linnaeus’s 1753 publication. The Flora of North America also compares it with the similar American hazel. Comparing related species growing on different continents reveals shared and differing features.^[1][3]

References

1. Corylus avellana
2. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew — Corylus avellana
3. Flora of North America — Leaves and inflorescences of Corylus
4. D. M. Napper (1971), included by Kew — Stems and flower spikes of broadleaf cattail

Research questions

How can similar hazels be distinguished? Researchers compare shrub size, flower clusters, and fruits alongside leaf shape. Finding similarities and differences among close species is an engaging starting point for plant classification.^[1][3]

Observation

Follow the edge of a broad leaf to find both large and small teeth. Move your gaze from the indentation at the base to the pointed tip to see several features within one leaf.^[1]