Hazelnut

The common hazel reaches in width and height of 5-6 meters. The wide krone of this plant is formed due to a large number of vertical trunks. The filbert grows in young age slowly, but over the years begins to remind an umbrella …

Young branches naked, gray color, later they become yellowish-gray and become covered by hairs. Roundish, large, up to 10-12 cm long, filbert leaves when are only dismissed, have a subtle yellowish-yellow shade, in the summer they become greenish and lemon, and get all shades of yellowness and gilding in the fall.

Flowers of a filbert appear before blooming of leaves and hang down in graceful yellowish earrings. The filbert in April – the beginning of May blossoms.

Filbert plant monoecious: on the same bush there are tychinochny earrings and pistillate plants flowers. Fruits edible spherical or oblong nuts, in brushes on 1-4, about 18 mm long. Fruits are surrounded by a fruit light green kolokolchaty obvyortka with cloves, velvety to the touch.

Nuts ripen at the end of August - September. The filbert annually fructifies, but the big harvest, as a rule, happens 1 time in 4 years.

The filbert practically in all European territory of Russia, in the Caucasus grows. The filbert was collected long since, quite often preparing for the winter not that bags, and carts. And what is interesting, not only nuts, but also branches, filbert leaves are useful.

Bark, branches and leaves contain: vitamin C, carotene tannins, flavonoids, essential oil, antotsiana and palmitic acid. Fruits contain: vitamins of group B, E, PP, C, carotene, the fat oil containing olein, linolenic, linoleic, palmitic acids.

Leaves and bark of a filbert have anti-inflammatory and vasoconstrictive properties. Infusions from them are drunk at a varicosity of veins and phlebitis, at a hypertension, diseases of kidneys, a liver, diarrhea, a prostate gland hypertrophy. Use for treatment of ulcers.

- Broth from filbert leaves
To fill in 2 tablespoons of the crushed leaves of a filbert with 2 glasses of boiled water, to boil 10 minutes, to draw half an hour more, to filter, take 1/3 glasses 3 times a day for half an hour to food.

- Consumption of nuts of a filbert increases intellectual working capacity, promote improvement of a metabolism. In the medical purposes they are eaten at anemia, diabetes, a hypertension, atherosclerosis.

- Nuts are useful to children, workers of brainwork, elderly people and all who want to be healthy.

- At nursing mothers nuts increase development of milk. To eat enough in day of 10-15 nuts.

- With honey nuts are eaten for cough and as the all-strengthening means.

- For increase in immunity and the best work of a brain from nuts cook drink - nut milk. Fresh nuts crush, fill in with cold water for 10 hours. Then pound in a mortar and insist 4 more hours, stirring slowly, then boil and filter. To taste add salt or sugar. It is possible honey.

The filbert is used in the cosmetic purposes. Still Avicenna wrote about properties of a filbert: "Burned hazelnuts paint hair".

- The mask smoothing wrinkles
To crush 10 nuts, to fill in with warm milk so that gruel turned out, to allow to cool down, add 1 teaspoon of honey, to apply to skin for 15 minutes. To wash away warm water, to wash cold.

- For dry skin
To pound 5-6 nuts, to fill in with olive oil before formation of smetanoobrazny weight, to allow to stand half an hour, to put on a face for 10 minutes. To remove the tampon moistened in warm tea leaves of green tea. In 5 minutes to wash cool water.

- Filberts oil the head for strengthening of hair.

- Broth from leaves is added to a bathtub for rejuvenation and increase in a tone. To fill in 2-4 tablespoons of the crushed dry leaves with 1 liter of boiled water, to draw half an hour, to filter, add to a bathtub temperature + 37C. To accept 10-15 minutes. Not to rinse with water after a body.