Native Plant of the Month: Beaked Hazel (Corylus cornuta)
This bud of love, by summer’s ripening breath,
May prove a beauteous flower when next we meet.
— William Shakespeare, Romeo & Juliet
by Erica Guttman
At this time of year, the bright green buds of the Indian plum dominate the woods as they prepare for their February flowering. Yet not far behind are the fuzzy buds of the beaked hazel from which will emerge leaves and tiny flowers of surprising beauty.
What’s in a Name?
Hazels are placed in the Birch Family (Betulaceae), and one can see some the similarities they share in leaf structure and reproduction with their relatives, birches and alders. The scientific name for our local hazel is Corylus cornuta. Corylus is from the Greek, “korylos,” and perhaps refers to a cluster of fruits and flowers. The specific name, cornuta, most likely derives from “corn,” the root for horn, and refers to the horn-like attachments on the hazelnut husks that inspired the common name “beaked.” Two other common names are widely used: Western hazel and California hazel.
General Description
Our local hazel is usually seen as a multi-stemmed, bushy shrub that grows 15 to 20 feet tall. Given time, it will form a dense clump with a vase-like shape at the base and arching branches above. In certain circumstances — and usually with human intervention — it will grow as a single-trunk tree up to 30 feet tall.
In summer, the deeply toothed oval leaves provide cool shade and a rich swath of vibrant green. Up close, one appreciates the leaves’ relatively large size (3-5 inches long and 2-4 inches across) and soft, fuzzy texture. In fall, they turn yellow and drop off to reveal the beautiful winter form of this shrub. The new twigs are a rich brown and usually lightly hairy. Fuzzy, plump buds are often attached to the stem in such a way as to give an overall zig-zag appearance — with each new bud, the branch bends slightly in the opposite direction.
The flowers are especially striking. Greenish-tan or slightly pink male catkins dangle from the branches either singly or in pairs all along the stem. From early fall until late winter, these are under one inch long and tightly closed. In late winter, they reach the height of their development and elongate to two or more times their previous length as they prepare to douse the female flowers with yellow pollen. It is these virtually unknown female flowers that cause great excitement for native plant aficionados. These emerge before the leaves, in early to mid-March, from the tips of certain buds. What one sees are actually delicate tufts of emerging stigmas that are no more than 3 to 4 mm long and bright magenta. They are so magnificent that I cannot walk past a hazel in March without checking for female flowers.
Once pollinated, the female flowers develop into small round nuts that are protected by light-green tubular husks with beak-like protrusions at the end. The nuts form in clusters of two or three, and are usually easiest to see in the late summer before various animals have harvested them. Occasionally, one might find a nut cluster in the late fall or winter, but those left behind are almost always lacking a developed fruit within the husk.
Hazel-seekers might be confused by the abundant domesticated varieties commonly found along roadsides and in open pastures. These can be distinguished primarily by the appearance and timing of their male and female flowers. The cultivated varieties tend to have catkins in groups of four or more, as opposed to the singles or pairs of the natives. Moreover, domestics’ catkins are longer and a richer yellow, and they open and elongate quite early: usually by around late December. It’s fun to look for the female flowers on domestic hazels in December and January to compare with our native variety a few months later. In my observations of local domestic hazels, the female flowers are a dark red rather than the bright magenta of the native. In addition, domestic female flowers are more abundant than on our native hazels, often appearing out of almost every bud on a branch. This isn’t surprising, given that they have been bred to produce large, bountiful fruit harvests.
Distribution & Ecology
Hazel occurs within a broad range west of the Cascade crest from southern British Columbia south to central California.
In our area, we see it in a number of habitats, most commonly as an understory species in coniferous forests, but also as part of the oak woodlands. It is also commonly seen along streams and in other open areas, such as old logging sites. A highly adaptive plant, hazel can thrive in full sun to full shade, on moist (but well-drained) to dry soils.
In the Landscape
Although a relatively common plant in our area, the hazel is remarkably useful and versatile in home landscapes. It can be pruned to develop into a statuesque tree. Two or three can be planted together and encouraged to “merge” to form a thick canopy for summer shade and bird habitat. Or it can be placed as an understory shrub to towering conifers. Some gardeners prefer to prune their hazels to maintain the graceful, delicate appearance of the young plants’ zig-zag form.
Regardless of where it is placed in the garden, hazel offers year-round beauty: its splendid winter form and dangling catkins; the emergence of the fuzzy leaves in spring; the development of nuts; and finally the golden hues of autumn leaves. It is a wonderful choice for attracting wildlife — not only are the nuts highly prized by birds and small mammals, but the dense thickets create cover and nesting spots for birds.
Ethnobotany
Not surprisingly, native hazelnuts were a favorite food of Northwest natives, and were often traded with other groups. Those of us who have wondered how to release the nuts from their prickly protective husks should note that some tribes buried them in damp ground for a few weeks to let the husks rot off. In addition to the value of the nuts, young hazel twigs were twisted into rope.
References
Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast. J. Pojar & A. MacKinnon. 1994. Lone Pine Publishing, Redmond, WA.
Grow Your Own Native Landscape: A Guide to Identifying, Propagating, and Landscaping with Western Washington native Plants. M. Leigh. 1997. Native Plant Salvage Project/WSU Cooperative Extension — Thurston County.
Winter in the Woods: A Winter Guide to Deciduous Native Plants in Western Washington. E. Guttman and R. Thurman. 1999. Native Plant Salvage Project/WSU Cooperative Extension — Thurston County.
Trees of North America. C.F. Brockman and R. Merrilees. 1979. Golden Press, New York.
Erica Guttman is the program coordinator of the Native Plant Salvage Project and a Green Pages staff writer.