Quail-Friendly Plants of the Midwest

Hazelnut

• Corylus americana
• American hazelnut, Filbert

Woody

Hazelnut's thicket-forming growth habit makes it important to quail and other wildlife for cover.

Chris Starbuck, University of Missouri
 

Catkins are single-sex inflorescences produced by several plant genera, such as oaks and birches. Hazelnut belongs to the birch family. In this species, the male catkins are typically solitary, 3 to 4 inches long, and occur from February through April. Hazelnut leaves are simple, alternate, 3 to 6 inches long. They are egg-shaped to oval with doubly serrated margins.

Chris Starbuck, University of Missouri

Hazelnuts mature from July to August in clusters of 2 to 6. They are encased in large reddish-brown bracts.

Jim Rathert, Missouri Department of Conservation

While whole hazelnuts are too large for bobwhites to consume, they will readily eat pieces that larger animals drop.

Steve Hurst, USDA-NRCS Plants Database

Description

Hazelnut is a thicket-forming, spreading shrub that can vary in height from 3 to 10 feet and occurs in dry or moist woodlands, prairies and savannas. Leaves are egg-shaped to oval, doubly serrated with five to eight veins on each side of the central vein. Fruits occur in clusters of two to six and are encased in large modified leaves called bracts. The sweet, light-brown fruits are prized by coffee drinkers and cooks throughout the world.

Bloom period

March to April

Use by bobwhites

Bobwhites readily consume hazelnuts where they are available. The dense canopy of leaves provides good summer thermal cover and escape cover from predators.