American Hazelnut
Corylus americana
Found in rocky woodlands, moist to rich forests and thickets. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Mississippi. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 9–12 feet
- Spread
- 8–13 feet
- Light
- Deep shade, Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
Space about 10.5 ft apart from its recorded spread. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Woody perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- February to April
- Fruiting season
- September to October
Recorded in 17 Mississippi counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.
Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.
Who uses this plant?
78CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including MS
Genus host records with ranges including MS · Corylus
- Acharia stimuleaSaddleback Caterpillar Moth
- Acleris chalybeanaLesser Maple Leafroller Moth
- Acronicta americanaAmerican Dagger
- Acronicta funeralisFunerary Dagger, Paddle Caterpillar
- Acronicta impletaYellow-Haired Dagger
- Acronicta incretaSouthern Oak Dagger, Eclipsed Oak Dagger, Small Oak Dagger
- Acronicta oblinitaSmeared Dagger
- Actias lunaLuna Moth
- Agonopterix argillaceaClay-Colored Agonopterix
- Amorpha juglandisWalnut Sphinx
Show all 78
- Amphipyra pyramidoidesMiranda Underwing, Copper Underwing, Copper Amphipyra
- Anisota senatoriaOrange-Tipped Oakworm Moth, Orangestriped Oakworm
- Anisota stigmaSpiny Oakworm Moth, Stigma Moth
- Antheraea polyphemusPolyphemus Moth
- Apatelodes torrefactaSpotted Apatelodes
- Archips cerasivoranaCherry Tent Caterpillar, Cherry Worm, Ugly Nest Caterpillar
- Argyrotaenia juglandanaHickory Leafroller
- Automeris ioIo Moth
- Baileya ophthalmicaEyed Baileya
- Cecrita guttivittaMaple Prominent, Saddled Prominent
- Choristoneura rosaceanaOblique-Banded Leafroller Moth, Rosaceous Leaf Roller
- Chytolita morbidalisMorbid Owlet
- Citheronia regalisRoyal Walnut Moth, Hickory Horned Devil
- Clostera inclusaAngle-Lined Prominent, Poplar Tent Maker, Poplar Leaf-Tier
- Coelodasys unicornisUnicorn Caterpillar Moth
- Cosmia calamiAmerican Dun-Bar
- Crocigrapha normaniNorman's Quaker
- Cydia latiferreanaFilbertworm
- Datana ministraYellow-Necked Caterpillar Moth
- Dichomeris ligulellaPalmerworm
- Elasmopalpus lignosellaLesser Cornstalk Borer
- Ennomos subsignariaElm Spanworm Moth
- Erannis tiliariaLinden Looper Moth, Western Winter Moth, Lime Looper
- Gesta juvenalisJuvenal's Duskywing
- Halysidota tessellarisBanded Tussock Moth, Pale Tiger Moth
- Herpetogramma thestealisZigzag Herpetogramma, Subtle-Feathered Grass Moth
- Hyalophora cecropiaCecropia Silkmoth, Cecropia Moth
- Hypagyrtis unipunctataOne-Spotted Variant
- Hypena palpariaMottled Bomolocha, Variegated Snout
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Kocakina fidelisIntractable Quaker, Green Fruitworm, Fourlined Green Fruitworm
- Machimia tentoriferellaGold-Striped Leaftier Moth
- Malacosoma americanaEastern Tent Caterpillar
- Malacosoma disstriaForest Tent Caterpillar
- Metanema inatomariaPale Metanema
- Morrisonia evictaBicolored Woodgrain
- Nadata gibbosaWhite-Dotted Prominent
- Nematocampa resistariaFilament Bearer, Horned Spanworm Moth
- Oedemasia concinnaRed-Humped Caterpillar, Red-Humped Appleworm
- Oedemasia leptinoidesBlack-Blotched Schizura
- Olethreutes appendiceumServiceberry Leafroller
- Olethreutes malanaSlender Brown Budworm, Malana Leafroller
- Olethreutes permundanaRaspberry Leafroller
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Orthodes majusculaRustic Quaker, Rustic Groundcat
- Orthosia hibisciSpeckled Green Fruitworm Moth, Speckled Green Quaker
- Pandemis limitataThree-Lined Leafroller Moth
- Paonias excaecataBlinded Sphinx, Blind Eyed Sphinx
- Paonias myopsSmall-Eyed Sphinx
- Phigalia strigatariaSmall Phigalia, Small Oak Looper
- Phigalia titeaThe Half-Wing Geometer, Spiney Looper, Eastern Oak Looper
- Phlogophora periculosaBrown Angle Shades
- Pococera aplastellaAspen Webworm Moth
- Probole amicariaFriendly Probole
- Pseudothyatira cymatophoroidesTufted Thyatirid
- Psilocorsis reflexellaDotted Leaftier Moth
- Smerinthus jamaicensisTwin-Spotted Sphinx
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
- Synanthedon scitulaDogwood Borer, Pecan Borer
- Xystopeplus rufagoRed-Winged Sallow
- Zale minereaColorful Zale
- Zale phaeocapnaHazel Zale
- Zanclognatha cruralisEarly Zanclognatha, Early Fan-Foot
- Acleris cervinana
- Anacampsis tristrigella
- Dichomeris ventrellus
- Menesta tortriciformella
- Stigmella corylifoliella
2BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Corylus
- Bonasa umbellusRuffed Grouse
- Tympanuchus phasianellusSharp-tailed Grouse
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Betulaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 4a–9b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to neutral
- Flower color
- Green, red or white
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Growth habit
- Several stems
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- September
- Fruit ends
- October
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “February to April” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Green, red or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “September” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Growth habit · “Several stems” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Hardiness · “Zones 4a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “9–12 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Minnesota Wildflowers, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Deep shade (less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight); Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Soil pH · “Acidic to neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “8–13 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
American Filbert
Conservation status
| Mississippi rank | S4 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| MS status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- NatureServe Explorer
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- Mississippi occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications

