Of interest this week at Beal...

American Hazelnut Corylus americana Family: the Birch family, Betulaceae Also called American filbert

W. J. Beal This nut-bearing member of the birch family is not as well known as its commercial Botanical Garden European counterpart, Corylus avellana. Ours are located on the hill overlooking the north side of the pond. Just as the European filbert has a long history of use in Europe, the American hazelnut has a long history of being harvested for food by the Indigenous First Nations peoples of Eastern North America. The fruit of the American hazelnut is comparable to the fruit of the cultivated European hazelnut, except significantly smaller. American hazelnut ranges from Maine west to Saskatchewan, south to eastern Oklahoma, east to northern Florida. In Michigan, American hazelnut is common throughout the southerly counties of the Lower Peninsula, but at the approximate latitude of the town of Clare, it is replaced by the more northerly distribution of beaked hazelnut, Corylus cornuta.

American hazelnut flowers a few days after temperatures are consistently above 40 degrees. Male flowers are catkins that expand upon opening to release massive quantities of pollen. The unexpanded male catkins comprise one of its most recognizable winter features. Female flowers are striking but tiny sprays of bright red

stigmata up to three millimeters in length. Flowers of both sexes are born on the same stems. American hazelnut forms thickets some 6-10 feet (2-3.3 m) in height especially along forest trails and edges. After pollination, the female flowers expand and wrap themselves in large frilly bracts that are the hallmark of their presence. They mature in the late summer and early autumn and are heavily gathered by mammals and birds.

Hybrid varieties developed from the American hazelnut (Corylus americana), the beaked hazelnut (Corylus cornuta), and the European commercial hazelnut (Corylus avellana) can produce nuts near commercial size and are resistant to Eastern Hazelnut Blight. In comparison, the nuts of American Hazelnut, Corylus amer- icana, (right) are significantly smaller than those of the famil- iar commercial European Hazelnut, Corylus avellana (left).

In the Indigenous First Nations world, American hazelnut has also been used medicinally. The Cherokee are reported to have used a tea made from the inner bark to induce vomiting. A decoction of raw nuts was employed to control bleeding during childbirth, and one made from the roots was used to sooth teething in babies.

American hazelnut is a popular nut for eating raw, roasted, or ground as paste, it is also an important flavoring for pastries, coffee additives, and confections. One receives about 15mg of vitamin E in each 100g of nuts consumed. They are safe for pregnant women, and there are no documented toxic effects. However; for people with allergies to these nuts and nut products, they are very dangerous to the unaware.

The common name filbert has evolved from European folklore that connected it with Saint Philbert’s day, August 22, the date that traditionally was the start of the late summer filbert harvest in central Europe.