Return

Hazels

Route POI

Flora

Introduction

We follow this path (signposted GR and Local Trail) for a strip of vegetation that transitions between the river bank: willows, ash trees, and the red pine forest that is above: it's hazlenut.

They are not proper trees, since they do not have a single trunk. Note how many buds go out of the neck (up to 5 meters). This feature has been used to make natural enclosures of fields or paths to avoid the passage of cattle. It is a colonizing land species that were pastures or crops of pulses, potatoes, near the river and that have been abandoned.

Ripe hazelnuts fall to the ground in October and can be harvested. Many forest animals, from rodents to spots, transport them to other places to store them or eat them. They are smaller than cultivated but tastier. When we have many in a natural year, we'll have less in the following one.

The infusion of leaves is applied externally to wash and heal wounds. In infusion it is used to lower fever and to help blood circulation.