Beaked hazelnut

Divining rods are made from Y-shaped beaked hazelnut branches. Hazelnuts are well-known, as are their envelopes, covered in a great many tiny bristles that catch on the skin. The best way to husk these dry fruit is that used by Native peoples: just place ripe hazelnuts in a bag and strike the bag against a hard surface. The nuts can be ground into flour and used in making nut loaves. The bark of this shrub is said to reduce fever. Indigenous tribes used it for various medicinal purposes. The Têtes-de-Boule used the branch tips to make an infusion to treat cardiac disease. The Abenakis infused the bark with that of American dogwood and willow to treat eye problems. The Iroquois made necklaces out of pieces of stem to ease teething pain in young children.