Corylus cornuta aka Beaked Hazelnut

Corylus cornuta, also known as the beaked hazelnut or beaked hazel, is a deciduous shrubby hazel found throughout most of North America. It has two subspecies and can grow up to 4-8 meters tall with smooth gray bark and green, rounded oval leaves that are coarsely double-toothed. The plant produces male catkins in the fall that pollinate single female flowers the following spring to allow the fruits to mature through the summer season. The fruit is a nut enclosed in a husk with a tubular extension resembling a beak. Although the nuts are small, they are edible. The beaked hazel is hardy and can survive temperatures as low as -50°C. The seeds are dispersed by jays and rodents, and the plant resprouts fairly readily after fire. In California and Oregon, American Indians used fire to encourage hazelnut growth as they used hazelnuts for food, baskets, medicine, and other purposes. The Western Beaked Hazel, which belongs to the Corylus genus, is a rare houseplant that requires regular watering and long-lasting, direct light. It needs soil that is well-draining and should be less than one foot from a window. It is native to Canada and the United States.