Family: Betulaceae
Species: Corylus avellana var. contorta
Common Name: Twisted Hazel, Tortuous Hazel
Etymology
The species name derives from the city of Avella in Campania, renowned since ancient Roman times for its flourishing production of hazelnuts. Corylus comes from the Greek córys, meaning “helmet”, because the hazelnut is enclosed in a green bract (a modified leaf serving a protective function) that resembles a helmet.
Description
The plant C. avellana “Contorta” is a shrub with extremely twisted branches. It can reach approximately 2 metres in height. The branches are the defining feature of this variety: they are initially erect, but over time become tangled and undulating, giving the plant a unique and picturesque appearance. The leaves are round or oval, toothed along the margins, and measure between 5 and 10 cm in length. During the growing season, the leaves are a bright green, turning to a golden yellow before falling in autumn.
C. avellana ‘Contorta’ flowers in spring, in February–March, before the leaves appear. The male inflorescences consist of pendulous catkins of a yellow colour, 4–6 cm long. The female flower, rather inconspicuous, is tiny with small red tufts at the apex that make it resemble a microscopic pineapple fruit.
The fruits of the Twisted Hazel are hazelnuts, smaller than those of the common hazel (C. avellana), but still edible. The male flowering, which is more prominent, occurs in February–March and is composed of the characteristic golden-yellow catkins that contrast with the leafless branches.
Habitat
Europe, Turkey
Properties and Uses
Fruit production is not the primary attribute of this variety, which is cultivated mainly for ornamental purposes.
Notes and Curiosities
For the Celts, the hazelnut gave its name to the lunar month corresponding to the period of hazelnut harvest, from the beginning to the end of August. These fruits were considered symbols of Wisdom; the small fruit, encased in a rather hard shell, symbolised imperturbability in the face of the people’s ever-changing opinions. For the Romans, conversely, because the fruit was enclosed in a husk that vaguely resembled an egg, it symbolised Fertility and Regeneration.
This is a monoecious species with unisexual (male and female) flowers present on the same plant, unlike dioecious species where male and female flowers occur on separate plants. In general, however, the most common flower type in nature is hermaphroditic, with both male (stamens) and female (pistil) organs together; evidently, evolution has favoured this flower type as the most efficient method of reproduction.
In the Heller Garden, a fine variety of hazel, C. avellana Contorta, is present. It exhibits rustic characteristics similar in every respect to the common hazel, but with much slower growth and with beautiful twisted branches. In winter, when it is completely bare, the male flowers appear—long, pendulous catkins of a vivid yellow—which, gently moved by the wind, are reflected in the garden ponds, imparting a very distinctive charm.