Hazel

Hazel translates the Hebrew luz in Genesis 30:37, where Jacob peeled white stripes in rods of hazel (and poplar and almond) and placed them in the watering troughs before the flocks during their breeding season — part of his selective breeding strategy to increase his own portion of the flocks. The Hebrew luz refers to a nut-bearing tree; the true hazel (Corylus avellana) is found in Palestine, though some scholars identify luz with the storax tree. The name luz is also a placename for the ancient name of Bethel (Genesis 28:19; Judges 1:23), though the connection between the placename and the tree is uncertain.