The tiny female flowers of the hazel catkins are not easy to see.  They look a bit like a tiny bud with red stigmas that appear when they are ready to receive pollen blown from male flowers.  The male flowers hang down in long yellow catkins known as lambs tails and consist of about 240 tiny flowers which emit pollen before the female flowers start to open.  This prevents the flowers from fertilising those on the same tree.  After the flowers are fertilised they can form up to four nuts if conditions are suitable.   In the past hazel wood had many uses including making baskets and furniture and the catkins were sometimes drunk as tea for colds and flu