March 17, 2013
American Filbert, Corylus americana
The photo above shows the minute, inconspicuous female flower of the American Filbert. The bright pink petals in this image are only about a millimeter long.
The male flowers, on the other hand, are quite conspicuous - several inches long - and quite abundant, as shown in the photo below. They will soon be shedding large amounts of pollen which the wind will carry, perhaps to a female flower, which will then produce the nuts we know as filberts or hazelnuts.