During the last week, I have been watching our American hazelnuts (Corylus americana) very closely because the male catkins have been rapidly elongating. Yesterday, I tapped one of the catkins which released a yellow puff of pollen. American hazelnuts are wind-pollinated and so the catkins should not be releasing pollen unless the female flowers are open. Sure enough, close inspection revealed quite a few tiny red female flowers. Spring is on the way!!
If you want to read more about my love affair with American hazelnuts, read the post I wrote for the Reedy Creek Coalition last year.
And of course, you can purchase your own American hazelnuts from Reedy Creek Environmental. I usually manage to beat the squirrels to a few nuts.
