Amazing Hazel!

Amazing Hazel!

Hard to believe that this pretty catkin is the daddy of yummy hazelnuts.

Hazels are wind pollinated- so that means to get hazel nuts from a hazel tree- the catkins (which are the male pollinators) get the pollen blown by the wind from one hazel tree to the next. The trick is that you can't get pollination from the same variety of hazel tree- you need different varieties- and they need to be placed close to each other so that when the wind blows the pollens gets to the right flower of the correct variety of hazel tree.

Absolute nuts eh??!!

So if the pollination doesnt happen- no nuts. And if you ever see a single hazelnut tree on its own- chances are- no nuts.

So next time you get stuck into your favorite chocolate hazelnut snack or spread- give a thought to the natural processes that went into it!