Hazelnuts can be hard to find in the wild

Shown here is a cluster of five almost ripe hazelnuts.

Each filbert is surrounded by a husk that appears windblown. Hazelnut clusters may be three to four inches across and usually contain two to five filberts. Each small oblong filbert will be one-half to one inch long.

In Southeast Missouri, wild hazelnut trees are little more than bushes or shrubs reaching a maximum of 25 feet tall.

Hazelnut trees are self-pollinating with both male and female flowers appearing on the same tree. Strangely, the male flowers, called catkins, will appear on the limbs in early autumn and remain on the tree until after the female flowers bloom in late February or March.

Various species of hazelnut trees grow worldwide. In the United States, Oregon and Washington produce the largest commercial crop of hazelnut filberts. Turkey produces more hazelnut filberts than any other country.

The seeds of hazelnuts are used in candy making, may be pressed to make a cooking oil and are sometimes used to make a special vodka.

Hazelnuts ripen in early to mid-October. The rather hard little nuts can be broken open with the tap of a hammer to reveal the meat inside. This meat is white but covered by a paper-thin brown membrane, similar to a peanut. The meat can be roasted and dipped in chocolate for a treat just like the peanut, although the taste is not the same.

Know the difference between hazelnuts and acorns before you go looking for and collecting any to eat. Hazelnuts may be hard to find in the wild. Acorns fall from large oak trees and are much easier to find but are not considered fit for human consumption.

Through the Woods is a weekly nature photo column by Aaron Horrell. Find this column at semissourian.com to order a reprint of the photo. Find more work by him at the O'Tenem Gallery.