Corylus cornuta subsp. cornuta

Common Names

Beaked Hazelnut, Beaked Filbert, Beaked Hazel, Western Hazelnut, Western Hazel, California Hazelnut, California Hazel

Summary

Beaked hazelnut is a native North American deciduous shrub forming dense thickets with a multi‑stem, open habit and smooth gray bark; leaves are oval to narrowly elliptic with doubly serrate margins, green above and paler below, and winter displays include long catkins before leaves with edible nuts in clusters of 2–6 enclosed by a bristly husk that extends into a tubular beak.

Preferring partly shaded to open, well‑drained sites, it tolerates a wide range of soils from acidic to alkaline and various moisture conditions, but dislikes waterlogged conditions and can spread by root suckers to form hedges or naturalized thickets; it is wind‑tolerant and hardy in zones 4–8, with propagation by seed (autumn sowing with stratification), layering, or division of suckers, making it suitable for native plantings, woodland gardens, hedges, and wildlife habitat due to edible nuts and wildlife value.

Lifecycle

Perennial

Height

13-20 ft

Spread

4-12 feet

Hardiness Zones

Zones 4-8

Sunlight Requirements

Ideally partial shade.

Soil Type

Moist, well-drained loamy soil

Soil Drainage

Well-drained

Soil pH

5.8-7.5

Bloom Color

Yellow, Red

Bloom Time

Spring (Mar–Jun)

Foliage Color

Green, yellow in fall, gold foliage, red to purple, orange to brown in fall colors

Fall Foliage Color

Yellow

Leaf Lifecycle

Deciduous

Growth Rate

Moderate

Seasons of Interest

Spring and Fall

Propagation Methods

Seeds, Layering, Division, Root suckers, Cuttings

Attracts Wildlife

Birds: Yes