Description

Leaves: Dark green, slightly covered with fine soft hairs above and beneath; alternate; 2-4" in length, somewhat circular to egg-shaped or heart-shaped, abruptly tapers to a point at apex, edge doubly toothed, often with lobes, petiole 1/4" to 1/2" long.

Twigs/buds: Twigs brown, glandular-hairy. Buds green to brown, hairless with hairy scales; overlapping, egg-shaped to round.

Flowers/fruit: Flowers monoecious; male flowers are large (2" to 3") catkins, yellow-brown, late winter to early spring blooming; female flowers inconspicuous. Fruit a nut; nuts inside involucre, which is toothed or lobed and nearly the length of the nut; 3/4" in length; edible fruit grown commercially as a crop.

Bark: Pale to gray-brown, smoother with age, not an ornamental feature.

Wood: Unimportant; susceptible to wood rots and decays.

General: Native to Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa. A tough, small-tree or large and shrubby; 12-20' tall. Prized in Europe for its nuts. Prefers full sun and moist to dry and well-drained soil.

Landscape Use: Plant as a specimen, barrier, hedging, or in groupings. Selections which have been grafted tend to sucker a lot, creating a maintenance need. Zones 5-8.

Cultivars: 'Aurea', 'Contorta', 'Fusco-rubra', 'Heterophylla', 'Pendula', 'Rote Zeller'.

Characteristics