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C O R Y L U S Avellana,
Hafel-nut.
£ y
M 0 N Q E C IA Polyandria.
G en. C har. Male, Cal. the fcale o f a catkin, three-?
cleft. Cor. none, Stam. 8.
Female, Cal. cloven, torn. Cor. none. Styles 2,
Nut ovate, fmooth, o f i cell, clothed with the
fwelling coriaceous calyx.
S pec. C har. Stipulse ovate, obtufe. Leaves roundifh,
heart-fhaped, pointed. Young branches hairy.
S yn. Corylus Avellana. Linn. Sp. PI. 1417. Hudf.
423. With. 378. 111111. 213. Relh. 364. Sibth.
127, Abbot, a n .
C. fylveftt'is. Ran Syn. 439,
T h e common Hafel-nut, fo frequent in hedges and copfes,
is one of the earlieft of our fpring bloffoms. Its male catkins,
which had budded in the preceding fummer, arrive at full
perfection about the middle of March, or rather later. In an
April morning they are often feen fpangled with dew-drops,
and quivering to every breeze, till at length the fun difperfes
the moifture, fhrinks the fcales, burfts the antherse, and the
pollen is plentifully fcattered. At the fame time the beautiful
crimfon ftyles may be obferved, 12 or 14 in number, peeping
from their own proper buds in a neighbouring part of the
branches. About September the nuts are ripe. They are dif-
tinguifhed from the garden Filberd, which may poffibly be a
diftinCt fpecies, by the calyx being much fhorter than the ripe
nut.
The young branches are clothed with reddifh hairs. Leaves
produced after the flowers, downy, heart-fhaped at the bafe,
doubly ferrated, veiny. The catkins fall off entire. The fta-
mina are about 8 to every fcale.