SafePlants

Beaked Hazel (Corylus cornuta)

The Beaked Hazel, scientifically known as Corylus cornuta, is a native shrub found across North America. It is admired for its distinctive "beaked" husk that encloses the nuts.

Considerations for Pets and Children

• Small Parts: This plant produces nuts which could be a choking hazard for small children or pets.

Taxonomy and Nomenclature

• Scientific Name: Corylus cornuta Marsh.
• Family: Betulaceae (Birch Family)
• Kingdom: Plantae
• Synonyms: C. rostrata
• Common Names: Beaked Hazel, Beaked Hazelnut, Beaked Filbert, California Hazelnut, Turkish Filbert, Turkish Hazel, Western Hazel, Wild Filbert.

Distribution and Habitat

• Found throughout most of North America, from southern Canada south to Georgia and California.
• It thrives in dry woodland areas.
• Also found in Winnipeg Headingley Oak Bluff Manitoba MB, Edmonton Spruce Grove Leduc St Albert Stony Plain Alberta AB.

Morphological Characteristics and Growth Habits

• Deciduous, perennial shrub, or occasionally a small tree.
• Typically grows as a multi-stemmed shrub.
• Can grow from 6 to 16 feet in height.
• Grows from 6-12 feet tall and often forming a dense thicket.
• Leaves are alternate, simple, oval to broadly ovate, 2 to 4 inches long with toothed edges.
• Male flowers appear as small, pendulous (dangling) catkins.
• The defining feature is the 'beak-like' husks that hold the nuts.
• Young twigs are villous (finely soft-hairy).
• Bark is light brown and smooth, becoming rougher with age.

Quirky Facts

• The species name "cornuta" comes from the Latin word for "horn," referring to the horny projection on the beaked fruit.
• The "horn" or "beak" refers to the husk that encloses and projects past the nut.
• Male catkins appear in winter.

Ecological Role

• Used in wildlife habitat plantings.