Useful properties of common hazel are actively used by folk and official medicine. Many doctors, healers and now recommend it to their patients. Hazelnuts (hazel) are a very useful food product. Nut kernels are sweet in taste, incredibly nutritious, satisfying. Everyone loves them. And with the growing number of people leading a healthy lifestyle, fitness enthusiasts, the use of hazelnuts has become more common.
Common hazel is a deciduous shrub that grows in many parts of the world, countries with a temperate climate. Even in the territory of Ancient Greece and Rome, hazel was bred. It was grown by Theophrastus, Sophocles, Virgil. Later, from the 6th century, it came to Turkey, and then began to grow along our Black Sea coast.
The selection of shrubs was strict: they took for reproduction shoots with the most delicious, large, thin-skinned fruits. The center of trade was the Italian port of Avellane. Here the common hazel got its specific name "avellana".
Currently, hazel is a large shrub, less often a tree, up to 8 meters high, grows throughout the European part of Russia, cultivated in many countries of the world, found on the mountains of the Crimea, the Caucasus at an altitude of 800 to 1600 m, sometimes rises to 2300 m above sea level. The area of thickets of common hazel is large. Only in the forests of national importance in Russia, it is about 14 thousand hectares. In addition, hazel still grows with oak, forming a beautiful undergrowth on an area of approximately 2 million hectares.
The genus of hazel is represented by 20 species. It grows on the Balkan Peninsula, Asia Minor, Northern Iran, the middle and mountainous parts of the Caucasus. This is a mighty tree with a straight trunk (about 30 m high), a wide pyramidal crown. Grows 200 years, a ripe tree gives 20 kg of small, thin-shelled, tasty, oily fruits. In beauty, power, tree-like hazel can compete with beech. In the Far East, two types of hazel grow: Manchurian and multi-leaved, in the Caucasus and Crimea - Lombard, or large, whose nuts are known as hazelnuts, in Transcaucasia - Pontic and Colchis.
Hazel is a shade-tolerant breed, but it bears fruit well where there is more sunlight, where the land is more fertile, where there is more moisture. It grows mainly in bushes. A large bush sometimes consists of 50 nuts, and among them there is not a single main one - they all stand with an inclination in different directions.
In the steppe, hazel is found along forest edges, ravines, cliffs, banks of rivers, streams. Its root system is powerful, distributed in the upper horizons. For an oak forest, it is an indispensable soil-protective undergrowth. This is a very valuable shrub when creating ravine-beam plantations. By giving natural layering, hazel prevents the soil from being washed away or washed away.
White hazel wood has a pinkish tint, strong, viscous, it pricks and bends well. Goes to hoops, poles, upholstery of fruit boxes, furniture. Coal obtained from it is used for the production of pencils, gunpowder. Young light chocolate stems are cut into fishing rods: flexible, durable. Previously, wattle barriers were erected from them, beautiful baskets were woven, rakes and canes were made.
According to ancient belief, hazel branches had mystical, magical powers: for example, an “index” of treasures was made from annual shoots. Moreover, they had to be cut on a moonlit night on Ivan Kupala or early Sunday morning.
And the Czechs took the consecrated willow and three branches of hazel: one - to search for water underground, the other - gold, the third - silver. Marriage ceremonies could not do without hazel branches - they served as a symbol of fertility.
This is a fast growing breed. During the summer, its shoots stretch up to one and a half meters. Hazel has many ways of reproduction. If a young shoot is pinned to the ground, consider that a new bush has formed. It can be transplanted next spring. She, like a currant, multiplies by dividing the bushes.
If ripe nuts fall to the ground in autumn, wait for beautiful shoots in spring. Another method of propagation is the grafting of cuttings on bear nut rootstocks. Fruiting occurs in the second year, and abundant - in the fourth.
Everything is very simple - cultivated varieties of hazel are called hazelnuts. That is, hazel and hazelnuts are almost the same, but the fruits of hazelnuts are larger, and its shell is thinner than that of hazelnuts.
Both shrubs grow in my dacha - hazel and hazelnuts. Both give a lot of shoots in the spring. The hazelnut bush is more powerful. Of course, hazelnuts are larger, but I think the taste of hazelnuts is more intense, although they are small.
hazel bush Nuts are a real treat. They can be eaten raw, fried or dry. They are used to make cakes, creams, various fillings, sweets, halva, cream, butter, and flour, which does not lose its taste for two years. All dietary products with its addition become tasty, high-calorie.
The nut kernel contains 60% fat, 18% protein, up to 5% sucrose, it also contains vitamins B and C, iron salts, and trace elements. Walnut yield - 50% of the total weight of the nut. Hazelnuts are twice as high in calories as white bread and meat. Walnut oil contains 65% oleic, 9% palmetic, 1% stearic acid. It also contains many vitamins.
The beneficial properties of hazel are used in many industries. Walnut oil is used not only by cooks. It is used by painters, perfumers for the production of toilet soap, other cosmetics, food, paint and varnish industries. Even the shell goes to the production of plywood, linoleum, briquettes, grinding stones, activated carbon.
As a medicinal drug, common hazel has long been used. It has been used in medicine for a long time - for relieving headaches, for rheumatic diseases, for diseases of the kidneys, urinary system, anemia, as a tonic. Hazel oil mixed with egg white treats burns.
From the kernels of nuts, you can prepare anti-inflammatory milk, the calorie content of which is twice as high as natural cow milk.
Grind the nuts with a coffee grinder, or better grind them thoroughly with a mortar. Fill with water for 8-10 hours. The water should just cover the ground nuts. In the morning, you don’t need to drain the water, but just grind the nuts in such a way that you get a nut porridge. Let the mushy mass infuse for 3-4 hours. Then it must be boiled, strained. Take 1 teaspoon 3-4 times a day.
Walnut milk is very helpful in diseases of the upper respiratory tract, for example, bronchitis, at elevated temperatures. Traditional medicine advises lactating mothers to take nut milk, especially when they have little milk.
Epilepsy is a very serious, insidious disease. A decoction of the leaves, bark, roots of hazel can alleviate the condition of such a patient.
The prepared raw materials are crushed as finely as possible, placed in enameled or glassware. One part of the dry collection is poured into ten parts of cold water, mixed. Place this dish in a water bath, bring the water to a boil. Withstand the dishes with the collection in boiling water for 20-30 minutes. Remove the finished broth from the fire, stand for 12-15 minutes, filter. The volume of the broth naturally decreased, therefore, boiled water is added to the initial volume.
For a day you need to drink 1 liter of broth. Every day prepare a new daily rate of decoction. Before taking the broth is slightly heated to body temperature. One liter of decoction is divided into five parts - this is one dose (200 ml). Take one hour after a meal.
Hazel leaves for health purposes are harvested in late spring (May-June). Dry them in the fresh air, not in the sun. Store in a dry place in paper or cloth bags or sacks. Shelf life - 3 years.
Hazel leaf tea has diuretic properties. Curiously, the same tea is very effective for urinary incontinence. It will benefit from varicose veins, diseases of the lymphatic system, anemia, rickets. Brewed in the same way as regular long leaf tea.
Hazelnut oil has useful healing, healing properties. One dessert spoon of oil (20 g) at bedtime will help with atherosclerosis. And a teaspoon (10-15 g), taken in the morning on an empty stomach, is useful for the prevention of thyroid diseases. Hazelnut oil tastes good, smells good. It can be bought without a prescription.
The hazel is in bloom - and the finches are filled with jubilant, uncontrollable singing, everywhere they are echoed by thrushes, whitewings. This is where the bees come in. The ovary of each female flower contains two ovules. But only one of them is destined to be fertilized, so the nut contains one kernel.
However, it happens that both ovules develop. Then two kernels take root under the shell. Marvelous! Such nuts A.S. Pushkin found in the groves around Mikhailovsky, where he spent several years in exile. For him, as for other people of that time, this phenomenon seemed mysterious, unusual. He even wrote these humorous lines:
"We are exactly a double nut under a single shell."
Once in the thickets of hazel, under the rough, wide, rounded leaves, you will see small "lamps" - bunches of nuts. Each nut, like a light bulb, is covered with a corrugated “plafonchik” with an openwork edge - a plush.
Many riddles have been invented about this nut, but you won’t immediately understand what it is about:
Plant a common hazel in your country house - you will get great benefits and great satisfaction. Show attention to her, care - she will generously answer you with kindness!
Since ancient times, Hazel (or Hazel) has been a symbol of fertility, renewal of life and wisdom, strength and justice. Hazel had a magical meaning and protected from the evil eye.
In Siberia, the elders believed that on the eve of the Trinity, the souls of their ancestors visit this world and temporarily move into the branches of Hazel.
Knowing about the magical properties of Hazel, with the help of a forked branch, shamans looked for treasures, water, lost things, and even deposits of gold ore.
It was believed that the branch of Hazel is a conductor of magical powers, so sorcerers made magic wands and staves from them.
Hazel got its name due to the shape of the leaves, similar to the body of the fish Bream.
The Latin name for Common Hazel is Corylus avellana. This name comes from the city of Avello in Italy, where this plant, rich in gifts, was first cultivated on a large scale.
It is worth noting that Hazel is a wild plant that is the progenitor of Hazelnut. The word hazelnut itself has Turkish roots.
Common hazel grows in mixed, broad-leaved and coniferous forests. Often it can be found at the bottom of the ravine and on the edges.
After fires and clearings, the shrub easily and quickly populates the spaces, forming thickets, therefore, in forestry, it is considered a weed.
There are about 17 species of wild Hazel, while its cultivated relative Hazelnut has about 200 varieties.
Hazel's homeland is Europe. In nature, Hazel is found in the Caucasus and the Middle East. The most extensive thickets exist in Norway, beyond the Arctic Circle.
In the mountains, Hazel is found at an altitude of up to two kilometers above sea level.
Hazel, like Filbert, prefers fertile and loose soil.
Most often, Hazel looks like a shrub up to 5-7 meters high, but there are also large representatives up to 10 meters high. Lushly spreading many small trunks, the bush attracts bees and other insects in spring, and in autumn all kinds of protein and birds.
The bark is light gray or brown in color and smooth in texture. The leaves are large and wide. The fruits have a hard shell and sit in velvet cups that look like flowers.
The tree begins to bear fruit at the age of 7-8 and can live up to 200 years.
Hazel blooms along ravines and on the edges, in hollows and clearings. Yellow and golden caterpillars stretch out in the spring sun and hang from thin branches.
This is what male flowers look like, carrying pollen in the wind. These flowers are a real cure for sleepy bees waking up after the winter cold.
Flowering begins in early spring in March or April depending on the weather and region. Blooming Hazel is a good honey plant.
The fruits ripen in autumn in September and fall to the ground, becoming the prey of birds and forest animals.
Hazel and Hazelnut fruits contain fats, proteins and carbohydrates. They are very high in calories and are a real salvation for a traveler who has lost his way in the thicket of the forest.
It has been proven that hazelnuts are more nutritious than soy and meat. In addition, nuts contain fiber, which helps to remove toxins from the body.
Fruits rich in vitamins treat anemia and anemia, strengthen hair and immunity. Nuts crushed with honey will help to cope with rheumatism.
In medicine, the bark, roots and fruits are used. In ancient times, a decoction of the roots was the main remedy for malaria. The bark has antipyretic and antiseptic properties.
Common hazel is not suitable for obtaining a nut. In today's world, nut harvesting is an ignorant method of extracting this valuable product. Proper extraction of nuts occurs only in special gardens.
Cream, butter, flour and even a coffee surrogate are obtained from the extracted kernel. Everyone knows the widespread use of nuts in the confectionery industry.
Hazelnut oil, which is not inferior in quality to almond oil, is used in the manufacture of soap. Walnut oil is also the basis of many paints and is used in cosmetics and perfumes.
Hazel wood is small, but it is characterized by high hardness and low brittleness, has a beautiful shade and is well stained. Basically, Hazel wood is used for small products.
A large amount of fat contained in nuts is contraindicated for people who are obese and people who have problems with the pancreas.
In addition, the use of any nuts should always be moderate. A day is enough to eat a handful of nuts, which fits in the palm of your hand.
Burning the thin branches of Hazel without access to air, the artists made coals for drawing.
Hazel has been known in the world for more than 6 thousand years, while archaeological excavations indicate that the progenitors of Hazel existed 50 million years ago.
The main truffle production is concentrated in European walnut groves.
In Babylon, due to its ability to stimulate brain activity, the common people were forbidden to eat hazelnuts.
The oldest representative of the wild Hazel grows in the Crimea and has a bush girth at the roots of 4.7 meters. The age of Hazel is approximately 200 years.
Common hazel is a deciduous shrub reaching a height of up to 10 meters. Such shrub has medicinal properties. Therefore, among the people, hazel was called hazel.
The plant belongs to the hazel family. Hazel leaves are large, with jagged edges, have a red color in autumn.. The bark of the shrub is brown with transverse stripes. There is a powerful root system that grows very quickly deep in the soil.
After planting, the shrub grows slowly, gradually adding in growth. Flowering occurs before the leaves open, in early spring. Earrings about 5-7 cm long are formed on the trees., are single and collected in several pieces together. The fruit is an oval-shaped nut, located in a green cupule. Fruit ripening occurs by the end of summer. Up to 20 nuts can form in the seed, but 2-5 are more common. The shrub begins to bear fruit after 8 years. This shrub is a long-liver, its age reaches 100 years, it is frost-resistant.
Hazel calmly tolerates the shadow, but develops and grows better in illuminated areas.
In nature, hazel is found in Russia, the Caucasus, and the Crimea. There are more than 10 types.
Received the name bear nut. Tree up to 20 meters long, 8 meters wide. The bark of the shrub is gray in color and peels off in sheets. Grows very slowly. Leaves turn yellow in autumn. The fruits of the tree-like hazel are divided into sharp slices. The shrub is unpretentious, tolerates drought, adapts to any climate.
Large hazel shrub(Lombard walnut) has grayish branches, up to 15 meters long. The leaves are large, toothed. Does not tolerate frost well. Often grown in the Balkans.
It is a shrub with many trunks, has a trunk length of 3 to 7 meters. The bark of the hazel is brown, the leaves are rounded, have a dark green color. The fruits are oblong nuts. Shrub shade-tolerant and frost-resistant. Occurs in Primorsky, Khabarovsk Territory.
Very dense shrub up to 4 meters high. Leaves change color. Green in summer, red in spring, yellow in autumn. The shrub loves light, can tolerate shade, is frost-resistant, tolerates drought. Fruiting starts early. Grows in the Urals, the Far East and Siberia.
Grows up to 3 meters in height. It has a lush crown and oval yellow leaves.. Received the name due to the fruit, resembling a horn. Grows in North America.
Hazelnut, which is called hazel, is the most common and favorite of the types of nuts. Hazelnut is considered a valuable and tasty nut., several times more nutritious than bread and dairy products.
Hazelnut has beneficial properties, high nutritional and energy value, enriched with vitamins and minerals.
The bulk of the fetus is formed by fats, one-fifth of proteins and amino acids. The nut contains a huge number of minerals:
All of these healing and healing properties fill the body with energy. Hazel fruit oil contains acids that can protect the heart and blood vessels. For the growth and development of the body, the nut is useful for children, and for the elderly to maintain strength and health.. In addition, hazelnuts contain substances that can cleanse the body and remove toxins. Vitamins prevent the appearance of cancer cells. For medicinal purposes, fruits, leaves, bark, roots are used. Hazel is a laxative, used for diarrhea. A decoction of the bark of a tree can serve as a medicine for varicose veins.
Widespread use of hazelnuts in cooking. Nut is used in the preparation of various dishes, and also added to baking.
Preparations prepared on the basis of hazel are used in cosmetology. Oil and a decoction of walnut leaves are used against hair loss.
But, along with useful substances, there are contraindications. It is necessary to eat a limited amount of a nut, otherwise it causes a headache and allergic reactions.
With proper planting of hazel, it is necessary to choose a free, sunlit place. The tree grows well on any soil, does not like wetlands and sandy areas. Before planting, it is necessary to prepare a place that, when spring comes, will not flood the seedlings.
Favorable time for planting is autumn, but you can plant seedlings in spring, until the end of April. The distance between the trees as they grow, take into account at least five meters. To harvest, it is necessary to plant three or more mutually pollinated shrubs.
It is very important to know that a shrub alone does not bear fruit.
Before planting, you need to purchase a young seedling, you can dig it in the forest. Prepare a hole by digging with a shovel, measuring 80 by 80 cm and 80 cm deep. Humus, fertilizer black soil, is introduced into each pit, and mixed with the ground. Form a hole around the seedlings and pour water. After that, mulching with sawdust or grass is performed.
After planting, a young shrub must be watered, weeded, fertilized, and treated for pests. After planting a young shrub, it is necessary to loosen the soil and water, especially in summer in hot weather. An adult tree does not require much care, it is necessary to prune for good fruiting. When buying, you need to beware of seedlings, they bear fruit a few years later, the nut is smaller in size. Hazel grows in mixed and coniferous forests, in the steppe, along rivers. Hazel is common in Russia, in the Caucasus, in Europe, in the Primorsky Territory.
The methods of propagation are vegetative and seed. The seed method is used when growing seedlings. For sowing, ripe nuts are taken, sown immediately after harvest in September.
Varietal shrubs are propagated vegetatively:
When propagated by layering young shoots bend down and root to the ground, without tearing them away from the bush. Everything should be done with care so as not to harm the buds that young shoots will give.
rhizomatous growth the plant appears in the third year after planting seedlings. One shrub produces more than a hundred shoots, and they are used for reproduction. Three-year-old rhizomes are separated along the edges of the bush with a hatchet, shovel or hacksaw. The shoots have weak roots, they are planted in one hole in 3 pieces. And in nurseries they grow for about 2 years, to strengthen the root system.
Hazel is propagated by dividing the bush. The uprooted shrub is divided into several parts so that each stump has roots. After planting, abundant watering follows, for a good engraftment of the bush. Already in the third year, such seedlings begin to bear fruit.
To propagate by grafting, cuttings are harvested in the fall, and stored in a cool place. The vaccination is done in the spring in the butt, in a split or behind the bark. Grafting for the bark takes root better. Vaccinations are smeared with garden pitch and covered with foil. After bud break, the film is removed.
Hazel cuttings are rooted in closed ground with high humidity. It is necessary to cut seedlings 10 centimeters long, remove the lower leaves. After that, prepare a composition of sand, peat, earth and humus. Planted cuttings in boxes with moist soil under the film. After 3 weeks, after the appearance of the roots, the film is removed.
Harvesting of hazel takes place in the third year, when the bush begins to bear fruit in September.
The maturity of the fruit is determined by the acquisition of a yellow shell and flaking.
When shaking the tree, nuts that have not fallen should be given time to ripen. Immediately after ripening, nuts are not suitable for human consumption. They need to dry for a while in a dry and ventilated area. It is recommended to store nuts in bags through which air passes.. When harvesting, the earth is strongly trampled down under the bush, it must be loosened, watered and fertilized after.
Susceptibility to diseases and pests and diseases of hazel is extremely rare. There are many shrub pests:
Damaged fruits are shed by caterpillars in large quantities. A dangerous pest is the weevil beetle. When spring comes, it eats leaves, after which it lays eggs. A larva appears inside the nut, which gnaws out all the contents. In pest control, it is necessary to spray the bushes after flowering with a solution of chlorophos or other preparations. Measures are being taken to clean up foliage and damaged nuts near the tree.
A lush and beautiful hazel tree is still rarely found in garden plots, although the shrub is popular. The shrub has many values in medicine, and wood is of particular value in furniture and industrial production. In addition, the shrub is an object of beauty in any garden, especially during flowering.
Seed propagation in the garden strawberry familiar to us, unfortunately, leads to the appearance of less productive plants and weaker bushes. But another type of these sweet berries - alpine strawberries, can be successfully grown from seeds. Let's learn about the main advantages and disadvantages of this crop, consider the main varieties and features of agricultural technology. The information presented in this article will help you decide whether it is worth giving her a place in the berry.
Often, at the sight of a beautiful flower, we instinctively bend over to smell its fragrance. All fragrant flowers can be divided into two large groups: nocturnal (pollinated by nocturnal butterflies) and diurnal, whose pollinators are mainly bees. Both groups of plants are important for the grower and designer, because we often walk in the garden during the day and relax in our favorite corners with the onset of the evening. We are never put off by the fragrance of our favorite fragrant flowers.
Pumpkin is considered by many gardeners to be the queen of the beds. And not only because of its size, variety of shapes and colors, but also for its excellent taste, useful qualities and a rich harvest. Pumpkin contains a large amount of carotene, iron, various vitamins and minerals. Due to the possibility of long-term storage, this vegetable maintains our health all year round. If you decide to plant a pumpkin on your site, you will be interested to know how to get the largest possible harvest.
Scotch eggs are amazing! Try to cook this dish at home, there is nothing difficult to prepare. Scotch eggs are a hard boiled egg wrapped in minced meat, breaded in flour, egg and breadcrumbs and deep fried. For frying, you need a frying pan with a high rim, and if you have a deep fryer, then it's just great - even less hassle. You will also need deep-frying oil so as not to smoke the kitchen. Choose farm eggs for this recipe.
One of the most amazing large-flowered tub cubanola Dominican fully justifies the status of a tropical miracle. Heat-loving, slow-growing, with huge and in many ways unique bells of flowers, cubanola is a fragrant star with a difficult character. It requires special conditions in the rooms. But for those who are looking for exclusive plants for their interior, the best (and more chocolatey) candidate for the role of indoor giant cannot be found.
Chickpea Curry with Meat is a hearty hot dish for lunch or dinner inspired by Indian cuisine. This curry is quick to prepare, but requires pre-preparation. Chickpeas must first be soaked in plenty of cold water for several hours, preferably overnight, the water can be changed several times. It is also better to leave the meat in the marinade overnight so that it turns out juicy and tender. Then you should boil the chickpeas until tender and then cook the curry according to the recipe.
Rhubarb can not be found in every garden plot. It's a pity. This plant is a storehouse of vitamins and can be widely used in cooking. What is not prepared from rhubarb: soups and cabbage soup, salads, delicious jams, kvass, compotes and juices, candied fruit and marmalade, and even wine. But that's not all! A large green or red rosette of plant leaves, reminiscent of burdock, acts as a beautiful backdrop for annuals. Not surprisingly, rhubarb can also be seen in flower beds.
Today, experiments with non-banal combinations and non-standard colors in the garden are in trend. For example, plants with black inflorescences have become very fashionable. All black flowers are original and specific, and it is important for them to be able to select suitable partners and a position. Therefore, this article will not only introduce you to the range of plants with slate-black inflorescences, but also teach you the intricacies of using such mystical plants in garden design.
3 delicious sandwiches - cucumber sandwich, chicken sandwich, cabbage and meat sandwich - a great idea for a quick snack or for a picnic in nature. Only fresh vegetables, juicy chicken and cream cheese and a little spice. There is no onion in these sandwiches, if you wish, you can add an onion marinated in balsamic vinegar to any of the sandwiches, this will not spoil the taste. Having quickly prepared snacks, it remains to collect a picnic basket and go to the nearest green lawn.
Depending on the variety group, the age of seedlings suitable for planting in open ground is: for early tomatoes - 45-50 days, medium ripening - 55-60 and late terms - at least 70 days. When planting seedlings of tomatoes at a younger age, the period of its adaptation to new conditions is significantly extended. But success in obtaining a high-quality crop of tomatoes also depends on the careful implementation of the basic rules for planting seedlings in open ground.
Unpretentious plants of the "second plan" sansevieria do not seem boring to those who appreciate minimalism. They are better than other indoor decorative foliage stars for collections that require minimal maintenance. The stable decorative effect and extreme endurance of only one type of sansevieria are also combined with compactness and very fast growth - Khan's rosette sansevieria. The squat rosettes of their stiff leaves create striking clusters and patterns.
One of the brightest months of the garden calendar pleasantly surprises with the balance of the distribution of favorable and unsuccessful days for working with plants according to the lunar calendar. In June, gardening and gardening can be done throughout the month, while the unfavorable periods are very short and still allow you to do useful work. There will be their optimal days for sowing with plantings, and for pruning, and for a pond, and even for construction work.
Meat with mushrooms in a pan is an inexpensive hot dish that is suitable for a regular lunch and for a festive menu. Pork will cook quickly, veal and chicken too, so this meat is preferable for the recipe. Mushrooms - fresh champignons, in my opinion, the best choice for homemade stew. Forest gold - mushrooms, boletus and other goodies are best harvested for the winter. Boiled rice or mashed potatoes are ideal as a side dish.
I love ornamental shrubs, especially unpretentious and with an interesting, non-trivial foliage color. I have different Japanese spireas, Thunberg barberries, black elderberry ... And there is one special shrub that I will talk about in this article - the viburnum vesicle. To make my dream of a low maintenance garden come true, it's probably the perfect fit. At the same time, it is able to diversify the picture in the garden very much, moreover, from spring to autumn.
It is generally accepted that the birthplace of hazel is Greece, however, in the writings of some ancient Greek philosophers there is a mention that it was brought to the territory of Greece from Syria. It is also unambiguously known that hazel was distributed in the Caucasus and in the middle part of modern Turkey (Asia Minor), later from there it was brought to the south of Europe and to the north, and in the 17-18 centuries. hazel was also brought to America. Today, thanks to the efforts of breeders, hazel can be found almost anywhere in the world; in Russia, it has become widespread everywhere.
Hazel includes seventeen known species, but only three main ones are the ancestors of all species - this is the Pontic hazel, large and ordinary. In Russia, this species can be found mainly in the European part in deciduous and mixed forests. Since common hazel loves moisture, in the steppe and forest-steppe zones it grows most often along river banks, gullies, and ravines.
Hazel, or the so-called hazel, refers to shrubs with wide leaves, shaped like the body of a bream fish, which gave the basis for the Russian name for this shrub. The height of the shrub ranges from two and a half to eight meters.
Hazel propagates both by seeds and roots. The cultivated type of hazel is the hazelnut.
To date, it has been proven that hazelnuts contain a huge amount of essential, valuable and useful substances, such as fats, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, mineral salts, microelements, medicinal biologically active substances.
Hazelnuts are extremely high in calories. The core contains approximately eighteen percent of easily digestible protein, ascorbic acid, carotene and B vitamins.
Hazelnuts - hazelnuts are used in the food industry to make a substitute for coffee, cream, milk, flour, butter, and even cake does not disappear - it turns into delicious halva. In the production of liqueurs, hazelnut kernels are also used. Of course, everyone knows that confectioners often use hazelnuts in the preparation of cakes, pastries, sweets.
Oil made from hazel is very similar in taste to almond oil and in no way inferior to it in quality. This oil is used not only for food, but also in the production of creams, lipsticks, soaps, varnishes, paints and candles.
Common hazel is a unique plant, people have long found use for absolutely all of its components. For example, young hazel leaves are edible and can be used to make soups or cabbage rolls. In addition, hazel leaves and bark are used in the leather tanning process. Branches and leaves are excellent food for animals.
Hazel wood itself is easily bent, which is why it is often used by carpenters for hoops and small crafts, and when processed, the wood makes excellent charcoal, which is indispensable for filtering, and is also suitable for painting.
When cleaning wine or clarifying vinegar, sawdust of hazel is used.
The bark is used as a natural environmentally friendly dye, in particular in printing production.
Landscape designers have long appreciated hazel, especially its red-leaved species, and are now often used for landscaping. In agriculture, in addition to being used as fodder, hazel is also used as a forest plantation to protect fields, to strengthen slopes and as hedges.
As mentioned earlier, hazel is a universal plant; almost all parts of this plant are used in folk and scientific medicine: foliage, bark, nuts and roots. The harvesting of one or another part of the hazel is made depending on the season:
Spring is the time to collect young May hazel leaves; The leaves are air dried and they can be stored for up to a year.
Spring, autumn - ideal for harvesting bark, which is dried indoors, not forgetting to ventilate it. The bark lasts twice as long as the leaves or fruits.
Autumn is the time of ripening of hazel fruits - nuts. As a rule, nuts are dried in an oven or dryer.
Common hazel has found application, both in prevention and in the treatment, in particular of such diseases as:
Nucleus
Hazelnut kernels are known for their nutritional properties, so they are used to prepare special creams used to restore the strength of patients. The kernels have many useful and, most importantly, healing properties, such as getting rid of urolithiasis, anemia, and improving bowel function.
In folk medicine, hazelnut kernels are rubbed with honey to treat rheumatism, and when rubbed with water, to treat bronchitis and relieve fever, also prescribed for hemoptysis and kidney disease, pounded kernels with egg white help relieve pain and speed up the healing process for burns .
Hazelnut oil is used in the treatment of cholelithiasis and epilepsy, in combination with honey - in the treatment of rheumatism, anemia, rubbing the oil into the scalp helps to strengthen the hair.
Nutritionists have also found use for hazel fruits and are often used when prescribing dietary nutrition. Despite the fact that hazelnuts are very high in calories, they are used for weight loss.
Root
The roots of hazel in the form of a decoction are good for malaria.
Wood
Through dry distillation, wood is used to obtain a liquid used in the treatment of various skin diseases: eczema, psoriasis, streptoderma and others.
Leaves and bark
Hazel leaves have antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, vasodilating properties. Hazel leaves are most often used in the form of decoctions in the treatment of hemorrhoids, skin diseases, anemia, hypertension, and intestinal diseases.
Hazel bark in medicine is used to treat epilepsy, ascariasis, leg ulcers and many other diseases.
Hazel is used as an antipyretic, astringent, as a remedy for dysentery, varicose veins.
seeds
Hazel seeds help increase breast milk production.
pluska
Pluska in the form of a decoction is used to treat diarrhea, and in the form of a powder - for colitis.
Decoction for the treatment of prostate diseases:
Grind hazel leaves and bark, pour boiling water over it, put in a water bath for about 20 minutes. Strain the resulting broth and cool. Take half a glass three times a day.
If only the bark is similarly brewed, then such a decoction has antiseptic, anti-inflammatory properties.
hazel leaf tea It is brewed similarly to ordinary tea and is used to strengthen the immune system.
Hazel bark tincture:
Hazel bark - 2 tablespoons, pour half a liter of boiling water, close tightly and insist for about 12 hours. Then strain the infusion and take 15 minutes before meals.
Hazel bark tincture is very useful for varicose veins, relieves fever and inflammation.
It also helps with varicose veins and thrombophlebitis infusion of hazel leaves:
3 tablespoons of hazel leaves pour glasses of vodka, leave for a week in a warm place. Strain and take 40 drops twice a day.
Juice is extracted from the leaves of common hazel, which is used to treat intestinal diseases, anemia, beriberi, rickets.
The juice prepared in the following way: squeezed from fresh leaves during the end of flowering hazel. Consume with honey 1-2 tablespoons of the mixture 3-5 times a day before meals.
For the treatment of cough, bronchitis and pneumonia: crush or grind a handful of hazelnuts or hazelnuts in a coffee grinder, combine with 150 ml of hot milk. Take a quarter cup, heated 2-3 times a day between meals.
In the treatment of prostatitis use walnut shells: pour 1.5 liters of water over 1 kg of walnut shells, boil over low heat until the volume is reduced to about a liter, strain and cool as usual. Take 3-4 times a day before meals, 2 tablespoons for 2 months.
