Contorted Filbert, Harry Lauder's Walking Stick

Corylus avellana 'Contorta'

Betulaceae (Birch Family)

▲dormant container plants showing twisted, contorted stems

▲▼view of leaves and twisted stems

▲▼mature plant in Xeriscape Garden

Location near campus:  Xeriscape Garden at corner of National and Linwood Avenues; southwest corner 

Corylus avellana ‘Contorta:’ Contorted Filbert, Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick

·         leaves alternate, deciduous, simple, ovate with serrated margins and slightly lobed; dark green and slightly pubescent or rough-textured above, pubescent underneath; 2-4" long and 2/3 to almost equally wide; leaves often puckery or twisted on ‘Contorta’ cultivar

·         stems gray-brown, roughly pubescent and twisted and curled in their growth habit

·         bark is smooth and gray-brown

·         grows 8-10' tall and often wider; if grafted, may sucker from base with straight growth, which should be cut away

·         prefers full sun to part shade, moist, well-drained soil

·         slow growth rate

·         native to Missouri