SCIENTIFIC NAME: Corylus americana
COMMON NAMES: American Hazelnut, Hazelnut, American Hazel
BLOOM TIMES: Mar
PLANT PROFILE:
- Abundantly branched shrub 4-15 ft. leaves are 6 in. long x 4 ½ in. wide.
- Separate male & female flowers are on the same plant.
- Males flowers look like small pinecones.
- Female flowers are quite small & with thin red threads protruding.
- After flowering clusters of ½ in. nuts develop.
- When the covering turns brown nuts are ripe.
- Developing hazelnut looks & feels like a sticky wonton.
- The high protein nuts are sweet & can be eaten raw or cooked.
- Hazelnut also called filberts.
INSECT/ANIMAL INTERACTIONS:
- A valuable food source for insects, birds, and mammals.
- Beavers use the stems as a source of food and in the construction of their lodges and dams.