Hazel groves

Hazel groves can be found in several places in the Nature Reserve, generally in the area of Segura, and that is where this trip will take you. In the high Segura river valley, between Pontones and La Huelga Utrera, lies one of the most extensive hazel groves in the Nature Reserve. It is in a good state of conservation, for the rugged terrain has spared it from the transformation the rest of the area has undergone owing to human activities.

In the area we recommend there is abundant hazel (Corylus avellana) that makes up an extensive plant community comprising wayfaring trees (Viburnum lantana), water elder (Viburnum opulus), traveller’s joy (Clematis vitalba), hepaticas (Hepatica nobilis), grass of Parnassus (Parnassia palustris), wild strawberries (Fragaria vesca), wild orchids (Listera ovata, Dactylorhiza elata), thistles (Cirsium pyrenaica) and several types of willow (Salix eleagnos angustifolia, S. purpurea, S. atricinerea and S. fragilis). There are also poplar groves reforested with the Canadian poplar hybrid. All these plants form a dense, extensive riparian forest where hazel is king.

For this trip we recommend the hazel grove at the head of the Segura river. Go to Pontones and from there take the track that runs along the banks of the Segura river, following the flow downstream, in the direction of the Masegoso farm. You can go on foot or by car, but you will enjoy the walk more and it is only five kilometres to the end.