Kitchen Garden Forum

The hazel bushes are showing the first lamb's tails now - or is it catkins?

To me the long, thin hanging trusses on hazels are "lambs' tails", whereas "catkins" are the round fluffy things (catkins = small cats) on willows. My OH thinks the hazel trusses are catkins.

Any thoughts anyone?

I'm incline to agree with your Monika although we always referred to the round fluffy ones and pussy-willow.

Beryl.

I've always called the long ones on hazel 'catkins' and the short fluffy ones on willow 'pussy-willow'.

Catkins for me......

I think catkins is the correct term for the Hazel seeds (male ones I think). Lambs tails are the colloquial name for the same as they look like lambs tails and appear at the same time as many ewes start to lamb. I tend to call them lambs tails because that was what my mother always called them and I always did what my mother told me.

Barney

Aftenoon Barney, i to, always did as my Mother told me...except the bit of advice she gave me about," never getting into a car with a strange woman"
And i would have been far better taking that advice to....

Moving swiftly back onto the catkin subject.