Common Hazel (Corylus Avellana)

Common Hazel

Plant Type: Shrub   

Typical Height: 91cm-2.44meters (3-8 feet) (possibly as much as 15 feet/4.57meters). 

Hazel Leaves

 Leaf Description: Deciduous. Rounded, Slightly Jagged edges, 6-12cm (2.4-4.7 inches) long and accross, Pale yellowish-Green/mid to dark green.

Male Hazel Catkin

Visible Catkins: Male; Yellow, 5-12cm (2-4.7 inches) long. Female; Only visible parts are the bright red, 1-3mm (0.04-0.12 inches) long style, the rest being hidden in the buds.

Hazel nuts in involucre

Fruit & buds: Fruit; The most well known part of the common hazel is the fruit, which is a nut. Spherical-oval in shape. 15-20mm (0.59-0.79 inches) long, 12-20mm (0.47-0.79 inches) wide. Yellowish brown with a paler "scar" at the base. Covered about 3/4 by a leafy hust (involucre) until ripe, at which point it falls out. Season - Early autumn. Buds; Green, fat and oval.


 Wood&Bark:  Young stems; Bronze colour and may show signs of peeling. Mature stems; Pale brown, shallow ridged.

Hazel Nut

Other: Hazel is a brilliant plant to be able to identify as it is found throughout Europe and Western Asia. The nuts are packed to the brim with all sorts of nutrition. They're excellent as snacks or included in a dish for desert or main meal. And of course I couldn't forgive myself if I didn't mention Nutella. The one thing that I always rave about is that nature has managed to pack so much into this one small nut. Not only is it full to the edges with protein, vitamines, minerals, fats (good ones), and carbohydrates, but it tastes fantastic. Just bare in mind that children shouldn't have too many of the uncooked ones (due to digestion). That said they're much better roasted than raw anyway. I recommend roasting them on a proper fire rather than in an oven. The flavour is much better that way.

The wood is also fantastically useful. Throughout history it has been used for copacing and as a traditional field boundries in lowland Britain. Due to the ease of copacing Hazel has always been an important scourse of wood, often used in the construction of wattle and daube buildings. The flexibility of the wood has also ment that it has been used throughout history, up to today, to make funature, baskets and divining sticks. It's also a reliable and excellent scource of firewood and thatching material.

 

Shell-less Hazel Nut

Finally there's also a long history of traditions where Hazel has been considered to be magical. A fantastic and prised wood for wands and water-divining and a rod of Hazel is supposed to ward off evil.

Not all food costs, you just have to know where and when to look and what to look for.

The Wost-Case Scenario Almanac

From the brilliant minds that brought us the rest of the Worst-Case Scenario (WCS) series we get something which is all that it promises with a little bit more just for good measure.

This book starts with a disclaimer to protect everyone involved with the book from legal action should anyone decide to put themselves in danger because they've read a book and think they know it all.


Written in the traditional mix of humour and seriousness that we've, no doubt, all come to expect from WCS which not only makes this a good book to bring with you because of the skills it teaches but also a smart choice to carry because, in those harsh survival circumstances, it will provide some much needed moral boosting.


As for the content of the book, I can't fault it. It combines knowledge from experienced survivalists with a good variety of components. It contains "how to"s on everything from Igloo construction to building a bundle bow and arrows from sticks and duct-tape to how to find your house if you've lost your memory. It's jam packed with tables of valuable information from "Worlds largest deserts" to "forest insects" as well as tables of edible plants (where, looks, how to prepare). There are extensive sections on "The Worst Of The Worst" which profile the harshest examples of each type of place in the book, detailing exactly why these places have earned the title "Worst Of The Worst"; what they're best known for, where they are, the main dangers you should expect to find, a little known fact about each place and a range of important statistics on each place.


Add to all of this the enlightening Myths and the facts which they hide and the truly inspiring true extreme survival stories which are followed up with a piece of expert advice relevant to the story (my favourite part after the "How To"s) and you have not only a top class survival guide but a brilliant read to boot.


After reading this I must say that I'd have a hard time working out which book to pick up out of the SAS Survival Guide and the WCS Almanac.