Hazel catkins

I found my first Hazel catkins of the year on 5th February 2021.

Hazel is a widespread small, shrubby tree that can be found in a variety of habitats such as woodlands, gardens and grasslands. It is often coppiced but, when left to grow, trees can reach a height of 40 feet and live for up to 80 years. If coppiced, Hazel can live for several hundred years.

Hazel is well known for its long, yellow, male catkins known as “lamb's tails” that appear in spring and its green, ripening to brown, fruits known as “hazelnuts” that appear in late summer. These nuts are a favourite food of Grey Squirrels, Dormice and Wood Mice and some small mammals will cache their finds and store them in burrows or old birds' nests.

Hazel is monoecious (Greek for one household) meaning that both male and female flowers are found on the same tree but this can lead to self-pollination so Hazel flowers must be pollinated by pollen from other Hazel trees.

The male flowers are found on yellow catkins that hang down ready to release pollen on to the wind. There may be over 200 unisexual male flowers on a single catkin. The male catkins appear before the leaves and hang in clusters from around mid-February.

Each male flower is covered by a scale which lifts when the catkin is ready to release pollen. Underneath each scale there are 4 pairs of green stamens full of pollen. The stamens split open to release pollen for wind dispersal when the conditions are suitable.

The female flowers resemble a bud with crimson stigmas that protrude when they are ready to receive pollen. The flower buds are located on the branch above the male catkin to avoid self-pollination.

Between 1 and 4 nuts are produced from a single bud, depending on how many flowers were fertilised.

💚🦆 🦉🦋🐝🦊🦡🌼 🌳💚
Stay safe, stay well, stay strong, stay connected with nature