Identification & Description:
The beaked hazelnut or filbert is a small shrub rarely more than 6 feet tall and is found throughout the state in naturally timbered areas. The similar, but usually smaller, American hazelnut pictured on the right is probably more common and differs from the beaked hazelnut in that the fruit does not have the long beak and the current year’s twig is densely covered with short red hairs. The American hazelnut fruit is often roasted and eaten but the beaked hazelnut has bristly hairs on the fruit and is usually left alone.

Leaves: Simple, alternate, double serrate.

Buds: Small, reddish brown.

Twigs: Slender, reddish brown.

Bark: Reddish brown.

Wildlife Value: Excellent, food (catkins, nuts, stems, foliage, twigs) source to over 20 wildlife species including upland game and song birds, fur bearers, game animals, small mammals and hoofed browsers.

Habit and Form
a deciduous shrub
multistemmed
leggy, wide-spreading form
8′ to 15′ tall
spread is slightly greater than the height
fast growth rate
coarse texture

Summer Foliage
alternate leaf arrangement
simple, deciduous leaves
3″ to 6″ long
1.5″ to 2.5″ wide
heart-shaped leaf base
serrated leaf base
pubescent
dark green leaf color