American Hazelnut (Corylus americana)

American Hazelnut is a great shrub for wildlife and to use in landscapes. It has a higher nutritional value than acorns and are eaten by squirrels, foxes, deer, northern bobwhite, grouse, turkey, woodpeckers and pheasants. The leaves and twigs are browsed by deer, rabbits and moose. The catkins are a winter food source for turkeys and grouse. The dense, low growth habit of hazelnut creates cover and nesting sites for many wildlife. Hazelnut flowers March through May before the leaves emerge and produce fruit July through September. Rounded nuts 1/2 inch wide and 2 to 4 in a cluster are edible and sweet. Native Americans used the acorns to flavor soups and grounded the acorns to make cake-like bread. Hazelnut has great seed crop every 2-3 years after first year’s crop. Useful for the shrub border and in naturalistic settings, it can handle dense shade or open habitats.

NATIVE RANGE

Map courtesy of USDA-NRCS Plants Database.