Contorted Filmert

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