Corylus americana

Last updated

Corylus americana
Corylus americana1.jpg
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe) [2]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fagales
Family: Betulaceae
Genus: Corylus
Species:
C. americana
Binomial name
Corylus americana
Marshall, 1785
Corylus americana map.png
Distribution of American hazelnut

Corylus americana, the American hazelnut [3] or American hazel, [4] is a species of deciduous shrub in the genus Corylus , native to the eastern and central United States and extreme southern parts of eastern and central Canada. [3] [5]

Contents

Description

The American hazelnut grows to a height of roughly 2.5 to 5 m (8 to 16 ft), [6] with a crown spread of 3 to 4.5 m (10 to 15 ft). It is a medium to large shrub, which under some conditions can take the like of a small tree. It is often multi-stemmed with long outward growing branches that form a dense spreading or spherical shape. It spreads by sending up suckers from underground rhizomes 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6 in) below the surface. [7]

It blooms in very early [3] to mid spring, [8] producing hanging male (staminate) catkins 4 to 8 cm (1+12 to 3+14 in) long, and clusters of 25 tiny female (pistillate) flowers enclosed in the protective bracts of a bud, with their red styles sticking out at the tip. [3] [9] The male catkins develop in the fall and remain over the winter. Each male flower on a catkin has a pair of bracts and four stamens. [8] [10]

American hazelnut produces edible nuts that mature at a time between July and October. Each nut is enclosed in two leaf-like bracts [10] with irregularly laciniate margins. [3]

Ecology

The nuts produced by American hazelnut are a mast of squirrels, whitetail deer, foxes, ruffed grouse, northern bobwhites, pheasants, turkey, woodpeckers, and other animals. The leaves are browsed on by whitetail deer, moose, and rabbits. The male catkins are a food staple of ruffed grouse and turkey throughout the winter. The low-hanging shrubs form habitat for many animal species.

Uses

The nuts are edible raw, [11] although smaller than the more commonly cultivated filberts ( Corylus maxima , [3] [12] Corylus colurna , [3] Corylus avellana , [12] and hybrids thereof). [12]

Native Americans used Corylus americana for medicinal purposes, such as hives, biliousness, diarrhoea, cramps, hay fever, childbirth, hemorrhages, prenatal strength and teething, to induce vomiting and to heal cuts. [3]

Cultivation

Corylus americana is cultivated as an ornamental plant for native plant gardens, and in wildlife gardens to attract and keep fauna in an area. There are cultivated hybrids of Corylus americana with Corylus avellana which aim to combine the larger nuts of the latter with the former's resistance to a North American fungus Cryptosporella anomala. [12]

It is a medium to fast-growing species, that suckers moderately, eventually producing a multi-stemmed, clump appearance.

It adapts well to a range of soil pH and types, but does best on well-drained loams. American hazelnut prefers full sun for best growth and development. Though it can grow and persist in partial shade, plant density and fruit production are greatly reduced.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hazel</span> Genus of trees

Hazels are plants of the genus Corylus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae, though some botanists split the hazels into a separate family Corylaceae. The fruit of the hazel is the hazelnut.

<i>Betula nigra</i> Species of birch

Betula nigra, the black birch, river birch or water birch, is a species of birch native to the Eastern United States from New Hampshire west to southern Minnesota, and south to northern Florida and west to Texas. It is one of the few heat-tolerant birches in a family of mostly cold-weather trees which do not thrive in USDA Zone 6 and up. B. nigra commonly occurs in floodplains and swamps.

<i>Corylus avellana</i> Species of tree (common hazel)

Corylus avellana, the common hazel, is a species of flowering plant in the birch family Betulaceae, native to Europe and Western Asia. It is an important component of the hedgerows that were, historically, used as property and field boundaries in lowland England. The wood was traditionally grown as coppice, with the poles cut being used for wattle-and-daub building, and agricultural fencing.

<i>Hepatica</i> Genus of flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae

Hepatica is a genus of herbaceous perennials in the buttercup family, native to central and northern Europe, Asia and eastern North America. Some botanists include Hepatica within a wider interpretation of Anemone.

<i>Morus alba</i> Species of plant

Morus alba, known as white mulberry, common mulberry and silkworm mulberry, is a fast-growing, small to medium-sized mulberry tree which grows to 10–20 m (33–66 ft) tall. It is generally a short-lived tree with a lifespan comparable to that of humans, although there are some specimens known to be more than 250 years old. The species is native to China and India and is widely cultivated and naturalized elsewhere.

<i>Corylus maxima</i> Species of tree

Corylus maxima, the filbert, is a species of hazel in the birch family Betulaceae, native to southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia, from the Balkans to Ordu in Turkey.

<i>Corylus colurna</i> Species of tree native to Europe and Asia

Corylus colurna, the Turkish hazel or Turkish filbert, is a deciduous tree native to southeast Europe and southwest Asia, from the Balkans through northern Turkey to northern Iran. It is also found growing wild in the forests of Western Himalayan range in the north Indian state of Himachal Pradesh particularly in the temperate regions of districts of Kullu, Shimla, Kinnaur district and Chamba district.

<i>Corylus cornuta</i> Species of tree

Corylus cornuta, the beaked hazelnut, is a deciduous shrubby hazel with two subspecies found throughout most of North America.

<i>Staphylea trifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Staphylea trifolia, the American bladdernut, is native to eastern North America, from southern Ontario and southwestern Quebec west to Nebraska and Arkansas, and south to Florida. It is sometimes used as an ornamental plant.

<i>Betula pumila</i> Species of birch

Betula pumila is a deciduous shrub native to North America. Bog birch occurs over a vast area of northern North America, from Yukon in the west to New England in the east and all the way to Washington and Oregon, inhabiting swamps and riparian zones in the boreal forests.

<i>Ostrya virginiana</i> Species of tree

Ostrya virginiana, the American hophornbeam, is a species of Ostrya native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Manitoba and eastern Wyoming, southeast to northern Florida and southwest to eastern Texas. Populations from Mexico and Central America are also regarded as the same species, although some authors prefer to separate them as a distinct species, Ostrya guatemalensis. Other names include eastern hophornbeam, hardhack, ironwood, and leverwood.

<i>Aronia melanocarpa</i> Species of flowering plant

Aronia melanocarpa, called the black chokeberry, is a species of shrubs in the rose family native to eastern North America, ranging from Canada to the central United States, from Newfoundland west to Ontario and Minnesota, south as far as Arkansas, Alabama, and Georgia. This plant has been introduced and is cultivated in Europe.

<i>Anaphalis margaritacea</i> Species of flowering plant

Anaphalis margaritacea, commonly known as the western pearly everlasting or pearly everlasting, is an Asian and North American species of flowering perennial plant in the family Asteraceae.

<i>Gevuina</i> Species of plant

Gevuina avellana, is an evergreen tree, up to 20 meters tall. It is the only species currently classified in the genus Gevuina. It is native to southern Chile and adjacent valleys in Argentina. It is found from sea level to 700 meters above sea level. Its distribution extends from 35° to 44° south latitude. The composite leaves are bright green and toothed, and the tree is in flower between July and November. The flowers are very small and beige to whitish, are bisexual and group two by two in long racemes. The fruit is a dark red nut when young and turns black. The peel is woody. It can grow up straight or branched from the soil, making up either a tree or a shrub.

<i>Corylus heterophylla</i> Species of tree

Corylus heterophylla, the Asian hazel, is a species of hazel native to eastern Asia in northern and central China, Korea, Japan, and southeastern Siberia.

<i>Ribes aureum</i> Species of plant

Ribes aureum, known by the common names golden currant, clove currant, pruterberry and buffalo currant, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Ribes native to North America.

<i>Quercus mohriana</i> Species of oak tree

Quercus mohriana, commonly known as the Mohr oak, shin oak or scrub oak, is a North American evergreen shrub or small tree in the white oak group and is native to the south-central United States and north-central Mexico. The species epithet mohriana honors the pharmacist and botanist Charles Mohr of Alabama.

<i>Alnus alnobetula</i> Species of tree

Alnus alnobetula is a common tree widespread across much of Europe, Asia, and North America. Many sources refer to it as Alnus viridis, the green alder, but botanically this is considered an illegitimate name synonymous with Alnus alnobetula subsp. fruticosa.

<i>Carex sprengelii</i> Species of grass-like plant

Carex sprengelii, known as Sprengel's sedge and long-beaked sedge, is a sedge with hanging seed heads, native to North America.

References

  1. Stritch, L. 2014. Corylus americana. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014: e.T194257A2307102. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T194257A2307102.en. Accessed on 06 July 2023.
  2. "Corylus americana. NatureServe Explorer 2.0". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Furlow, John J. (1997). "Corylus americana". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 3. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  4. "Corylus americana". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 2018-07-23.
  5. "Corylus americana". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014.
  6. "Corylus americana". Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved 2016-07-05.
  7. Coladonato, Milo (1993). "Corylus americana". Fire Effects Information System (FEIS). US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service (USFS), Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory.
  8. 1 2 Hilty, John (2020). "American Hazelnut (Corylus americana)". Illinois Wildflowers.
  9. Chayka, Katy; Dziuk, Peter (2016). "Corylus americana (American Hazelnut)". Minnesota Wildflowers.
  10. 1 2 Furlow, John J. (1997). "Corylus". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 3. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  11. Elias, Thomas S.; Dykeman, Peter A. (2009) [1982]. Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide to Over 200 Natural Foods. New York: Sterling. p. 173. ISBN   978-1-4027-6715-9. OCLC   244766414.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Bailey, Liberty Hyde; Bailey, Ethel Zoe (1976). Hortus third : a concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada. New York: Macmillan. p. 479. ISBN   0-02-505470-8. OCLC   2513407.