Blooming now – are you nuts Filbert and Hazel?
Sustainability Committee open meeting TODAY at 12:20 in CASTL (Vini 107). Actually Filbert is a little nutty, as he (it) is also known as a hazelnut. Typically the French refer to them as Filbert nuts and the English call them hazelnuts. Why Filbert? Some say after St. Philibert, others say it is a slang derivative of its description of “full beard” if one looks at the husk that covers the nut. Why hazel? Some say it is a derivative of the English word haesel, or head-dress, again referring to the husk surrounding the nut.
Hazelnuts belong to the genus Corylus. They are grown in many parts of the world with Turkey being the main production region. In the U.S. Oregon and Washington states are the two major producers. They are a healthy nut to eat being rich in protein and “good” fats, however my favorite ways may not be so much so – as I like them in Nutella and Frangelico. They are also used to make candies called truffles, however this is a bit confusing as the hazelnut tree is in the family of trees that can be infected with truffles, this story will have to wait for another day.
They are typically a smaller tree that can be managed as a shrub; ornamental forms do exist – and the contorted Filbert tree can be found in gardens in the area. The nuts are ready in the fall, however the trees are blooming now. The male catkin hangs down from the branches now and relies on wind pollination for the small, inconspicuous female flowers. There is another tree that has catkins of which we are all familiar and we will discuss at a later time – pussy willow. (Can you say Dyngus Day?)