How do you recognise Giant filbert (Corylus maxima)?

Leaf

Alain Bigou, Tela Botanica · CC BY-SA 2.0

Giant filbert

Corylus maxima Mill.

Also known as: Filbert, Lambert's filbert

Family: Betulaceae

4 to 6 m tall

Planted in hedges or as a specimen, rich, well-drained soils

Flowering: January – March, before the leaves

Full sun

Part shade

Very hardy, to about -20°C

❓ How do you recognise this plant?

Filbert is distinguished from common hazel by its long tubular husk that almost entirely encloses the nut, unlike the short, flared husk of common hazel. The cultivated filbert produces much larger, more elongated nuts than the wild common hazel, whose fruit is smaller and round.

🍃 Leaves

Deciduous, rounded, toothed, sometimes purple depending on variety

🌸 Flowers

Pendent yellowish male catkins and small reddish female flowers, separate on the same plant

🍎 Fruits

Large elongated nut, enclosed in a characteristic long tubular husk

🪵 Bark

Grey, smooth

🗺️ Distribution

Native to south-eastern Europe and Asia Minor; grown in France for its large nuts and as an ornamental shrub

🐝 Value for pollinators

Wind-pollinated, little interest for pollinators but early catkins useful at the very start of spring

✂️ Horticultural uses

Large fruit shrub grown for its big nuts, also planted as a purple variety for its decorative foliage

⚠️ Possible toxicity

Edible fruit; no known toxicity

🌱 Known cultivars

'Purpurea'

This variety is distinguished by its dark purple foliage, almost black in spring, which contrasts strongly with the bright green leaves of the wild species.