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The Common Hazel (Corylus avellana L.) is a shrub native to Europe and Asia. It typically reaches 3-8 m tall, but can reach 15 m on occasion. The leaves are deciduous, rounded, 6-12 cm long and across, softly hairy on both surfaces, and with a double-serrate margin.
 Common Hazel male catkins in spring The flowers are produced very early in spring before the leaves, and are monoecious, with single-sex catkins, the male pale yellow and 5-12 cm long, the female very small and largely concealed in the buds, with only the bright red 1-3 mm long styles visible.
The seed is a nut, known as a hazelnut or cobnut. It is roughly spherical to oval, about 15-25 mm long and 10-15 mm in diameter, with an outer fibrous husk surrounding a smooth shell. The nut falls out of the husk when ripe, about 7-8 months after pollination. The kernel of the seed is edible and used raw or roasted, or ground into a paste. The seed has a thin, dark brown skin which has a bitter flavour and is sometimes removed before cooking.
Hazelnuts are produced in commercial quantities in Europe, Turkey, and in the American states of Oregon and Washington.
Hazelnuts are extensively used in confectionery to make praline and also used in combination with chocolate for chocolate truffles and products such as Nutella. Hazelnut oil, pressed from hazelnuts, is strongly flavoured and used as a cooking oil.
 Hazelnuts, unshelled (left), shelled (right) The Common Hazel is also an important component of the hedgerows that were the traditional field boundaries in lowland England. The wood was traditionally grown as coppice, the poles cut being used for wattle-and-daub building and agricultural fencing.
The Filbert
The nut known as the Filbert is closely related, but is the nut of the species Corylus maxima.
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