Corylus avellana L. 'Contorta'
AKA "Harry Lauder's Walking Stick" or "Contorted Filbert"
I first encountered this marvelous tree while tromping around in the countryside in England.
This is a tree that takes patience. They can grow quite tall (I saw one at about fifteen feet in Sonoma County) but only after a long time. They have a lot of heavy roots, so don't plan on moving it after it's been in the ground for a while.
In the summer they are sort of ho-hum, look like a small bushy tree. But in the winter, when the leaves fall and into the spring when long yellow catkins appear on the branches, the curling branches become a major statement in the garden.
We bought ours from Raintree Nursery in Spring 2006. It is grafted to be more treelike, so we will have to watch out for suckers.
Here it is in leaf, June 2006:
