Filbert

Filbert, a barbarous corruption of the French feuille, a leaf, and the English word beard, applied to those varieties of the cultivated hazel (q.v.) in which the leafy husk, or cupule, projects beyond, and is so contracted as to entirely enclose the nut. There are three chief varieties: the "white," the "red," and the "frizzled," named from differences in the testa or "skin" of the kernel. Some 600 tons are grown annually, especially round Maidstone, in Kent. When quite ripe they will keep for several years if in a dry place.