Corylus maxima
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Corylus maxima, the filbert, is a species of hazel in the birch family Betulaceae, native to southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia.
DescriptionEdit
It is a deciduous shrub Template:Convert tall, with stems up to Template:Convert thick. The leaves are rounded, Template:Convert long by Template:Convert broad, with a coarsely double-serrated margin. The flowers are wind-pollinated catkins produced in late winter; the male (pollen) catkins are pale yellow, Template:Convert long, while the female catkins are bright red and only Template:Convert long. The fruit is a nut produced in clusters of 1–5 together; each nut is Template:Convert long, fully enclosed in a Template:Convert long, tubular involucre (husk).<ref name="rushforth">Rushforth, K. (1999). Trees of Britain and Europe. Collins Template:ISBN.</ref><ref name="fnwe">Flora of NW Europe: Corylus maxima Template:Webarchive</ref>
Similar speciesEdit
The filbert is similar to the related common hazel, C. avellana, differing in having the nut more fully enclosed by the tubular involucre. This feature is shared by the beaked hazel C. cornuta of North America, and the Asian beaked hazel C. sieboldiana of eastern Asia.
Distribution and habitatEdit
The species is native to southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia, from the Balkans to Ordu in Turkey.<ref name="rushforth" />
UsesEdit
The filbert nut is edible, and is very similar to the hazelnut (cobnut). Its main use in the United States is as large filler (along with peanuts as small filler) in most containers of mixed nuts. Filberts are sometimes grown in orchards for the nuts, but much less often than the common hazel.<ref name=rushforth/><ref name=fnwe/>
The purple-leaved cultivar C. maxima 'Purpurea' is a popular ornamental shrub in gardens.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:Clear left
NameEdit
In Oregon, "filbert" is used for commercial hazelnuts in general. Use in this manner has faded partly due to the efforts of Oregon's hazelnut growers to brand their product to better appeal to global markets and avoid confusion.<ref>Oregon Hazelnut Marketing Board</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The etymology for 'filbert' may trace to Norman French. Saint Philibert's feast day is 20 August (old style) and the plant was possibly renamed after him because the nuts were mature on this day.<ref>Oxford English Dictionary.</ref>Template:Full citation needed