Corylus tibetica

The Tibetan hazel is in the birch or Betulaceae family and is native to China, and apparently widely spread in the regions bordering Tibet. It is said to grow up to 6 m tall in the wild.

• Leaves are broadly obovate or ovate, 5–12 cm long and 3.1–7.5 cm wide, heart-shaped or rounded at the base, the apex abruptly slender-pointed, unequally and sharply toothed; upper surface has flattened hairs on and between the nerves when young; lower surface is slightly glaucous with silky hairs on the midrib and veins; petiole is 1.3–2.5 cm long, silky-hairy, glandular on the upper side.
• Species is monoecious; male catkins are 5–7.5 cm long; female flowers are red filaments 3–5 mm long.
• Nuts are in clusters of 3–6, the husks covered with slender branching spines, the whole cluster forming a prickly ball like that of a sweet chestnut (its most distinctive character among cultivated hazels is the prickly burs that enclose the nut clusters).