American Hazelnut Seed Filbert

LATIN NAME: Corylus americana

COMMON NAME: American Hazelnut

The American hazelnut is the small, sweet nut of the eastern woods and the old hedgerows. The fine, multi-stemmed, deciduous shrub carries the broad, soft, doubly toothed leaves, and the long, yellow catkins open early in the spring, followed by the small, red female flowers, to be followed in the autumn by the small, round, brown nuts in their fringed husks. The nuts are fine, sweet, dependable food for the table and the woodland wildlife. It is a fine, easy, generous shrub of the sunny garden and the wild border. It is a plant of the deep, rich, well-drained ground.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The American hazelnut has carved a quiet but solid place in the plant science, and the shrub has been studied for the small, round, brown nuts and the long, yellow catkins of the early spring. The fine, sweet character of the nuts and the way the shrub grows on the old hedgerows have been studied at length, and it keeps showing up in the work on the nut crops and the woodland shrubs. The broad, soft, doubly toothed leaves and the fine, multi-stemmed habit have also made it a fine garden shrub, and it is a regular subject of the studies of the hazelnuts of the cool-temperate world.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

The American hazelnut does a lot of work in the garden and the woodland. The small, round, brown nuts are fine, sweet, dependable food for the table, the bakery and the wildlife, and the shrub feeds the squirrels, the jays and the small mammals through the autumn. The long, yellow catkins and the small, red female flowers add their own fine, early interest to the garden, and the multi-stemmed shrub is an easy, generous filler of the sunny border and the wild corner. It has been written about in the agricultural and the horticultural papers for the sweet nuts and the hardy, easy ways, and it is a fine, generous shrub of the deep, rich, well-drained garden.

The American hazelnut is one of the fine, sweet nuts of the cool-temperate woods, and the small, round, brown nuts in their fringed husks are a dependable autumn crop of the table and the woodland wildlife. The long, yellow catkins open very early in the spring, one of the first signs of the new season in the garden.

To grow the American hazelnut from seed, sow the fresh nuts at a shallow depth in pots of moist, free-draining soil, covering them thinly, keep them in a bright, open spot and water gently. The seedlings thread up within a few weeks and grow on steadily. With the sun and the deep, rich, well-drained ground, the long, yellow catkins and the sweet, round nuts will be there in a few seasons.

Common name:Corylus americana seeds

American Hazelnut, native to Eastern North America, is a deciduous, rounded, multi-stemmed shrub which typically grows 8 to 16 feet tall and occurs statewide in dry or moist thickets, woodlands and wood margins, valleys, uplands and prairies. Plants are Monoecious (separate male and female flowers on the same plant). In spring, male flowers appear in showy, 2 to 3 inch long, yellowish brown catkins and female flowers appear in small, reddish, inconspicuous catkins. Female flowers give way to small, egg-shaped, 1/2 inch long, edible nuts maturing July-August which are encased in leafy, husk-like, ragged-edged bracts. Nuts are similar in flavor to the European filbert and may be roasted and eaten or ground into flour. Fall color is quite variable, ranging from attractive combinations of orange, rose, purplish red, yellow and green to undistinguished, dull yellowish green.

Hazelnuts are best kept by shelling and then freezing. Hazelnuts are a delicious nut for fresh eating, roasted, ground into a paste or as toppings in chocolate and ice cream. The hazelnut is both tasty and healthy. It is high in vitamins A, E, and the B group.