Shrub to 3 m (9 ft) tall, usually in colonies. Twigs usually pubescent or glandular-pubescent. Bark smoothish and light gray. Leaves alternate, acuminate, doubly serrate, hairy beneath, to 15 cm (6 in) long and 12 cm (4.7 in) wide. Staminate catkins to 15 cm long, appear in the fall but flower the following spring. Pistillate flowers several in a scaly bud. Fruits globose hard-shelled nuts about 2 cm (0.8 in) in diameter, enclosed in two large downy, toothed bracts.
Distribution: Most of the eastern U. S. and southeastern Canada.
Habitat: Mesic oak-hickory forests.
NWI status: Not listed in Region 6, UPL and FACU in other regions
Comment: The nuts are eaten by birds, squirrels, and deer. Corylus is the old Greek name for the European hazelnut; americana refers to North America.
Distribution in Oklahoma: 
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Last update: 9/9/99
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