Corylus mandshurica

Maximowicz

Manchurian hazel nut

Betulaceae Edible: Nuts 241 iNaturalist observations

iNaturalist· cc-by-nc

Description

A shrub or small tree. It grows 6 m tall. The bark is grey to brown and cracked. The small branches are softly hairy. The leaf stalk is 1-3 cm long and slender. The leaf blade is broadly oval and 6-12 cm long by 4-9 cm wide. Flowers are separately male and female. The male flowers occur as 2-4 in a cluster. The bracts around the female flower clusters are tube shaped. The nut is enclosed by bracts. It is 1.5 cm across.

Edible Uses

The nuts of all hazels are edible. The common hazel is the species most extensively grown for its nuts, followed in importance by the filbert. Nuts are also harvested from the other species, but apart from the filbert, none is of significant commercial importance. A number of cultivars of the common hazel and filbert are grown as ornamental plants in gardens, including forms with contorted stems (C. avellana 'Contorta', popularly known as "Corkscrew hazel" or "Harry Lauder's walking stick" from its gnarled appearance); with weeping branches (C. avellana 'Pendula'); and with purple leaves (C. maxima 'Purpurea'). Hazel is a traditional material used for making wattle, withy fencing, baskets, and the frames of coracle boats. The tree can be coppiced, and regenerating shoots allow for harvests every few years. There is a seven-year cycle (cut and grow) for hurdle (fence) making. Hazels are used as food plants by the larvae of various species of Lepidoptera including Eriocrania chrysolepidella.

Traditional Uses

The nuts are eaten raw.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Distribution

It is a temperate plant. It grows in temperate forests, thickets between 400–2600 m. altitude in China.

Where It Grows

Asia, China, Japan, Korea, Russia,

Other Information

It is a cultivated food plant.

Notes

There are about 15 Corylus species.

Synonyms

Corylus rostrata Aiton var. mandshurica (Maximowicz) RegelCorylus sieboldiana Blume var. mandshurica (Maximowicz) C. K. Schneider.

Also Known As

Mao zhen

References (4)

Arora, R. K., 2014, Diversity in Underutilized Plant Species - An Asia-Pacific Perspective. Bioversity International. p 94
Lu De-quan, BASELLACEAE , Flora of China. Vol. 14, p 288 and Flora of China. www.eFloras.org
www.eFloras.org Flora of China
Zeven, A. C. & de West, J. M. J., 1982, Dictionary of cultivated plants and their regions of diversity. Wageningen. p 34