Corylus cornuta californica

Sunset

Zones 2-9, 14-20

Full, Partial

Moderate

Western Hazelnut
Betulaceae
Deciduous, Shrubs

CORYLUS

Although usually grown for their edible nuts (see Filbert, Hazelnut), includes very attractive ornamental shrubs or small trees. The plants have separate female and male flowers. Female blossoms are inconspicuous; male ones are showy, appearing in pendent catkins on bare branches in winter or early spring. Leaves are roundish to oval, with toothed margins. Thin branches as needed in late winter; remove suckers when you see them.

Corylus cornuta californica

Native to damp slopes below 7,000-ft. elevation, northern Coast Ranges and Sierra Nevada of California, north to British Columbia. Open, multistemmed, to 5–12 ft. high and wide. Roundish, somewhat hairy, coarsely toothed, 1 1/2–3-in. leaves turn bright yellow in autumn. Small nuts with flavorful kernels are enveloped in a leafy husk with a long, attenuated beak.