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Betulaceae FAMILY

Corylus cornuta californica

Corylus cornuta californica

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Shrub
Growth—

An easily grown plant, it succeeds in most soils, but is in general more productive of seeds when grown on soils of moderate fertility[1, 2]. It does less well in rich heavy soils or poor ones[1, 3]. Does well in a loamy soil[1]. Very suitable for an alkaline soil[1], but it dislikes very acid soils[4]. Plants are fairly wind tolerant[5, 1]. Members of this genus bear transplanting well and can be easily moved even when relatively large[1]. California hazelnut does well in full sun to full shade, and prefers moist but well-drained, loamy, acid soils with plenty of organic matter; it tolerates clay but not saturated soils. Plants are winter hardy to 0°F, and sprout readily from the root crown after top-kill by fire or other disturbance. It typically occupies damp rocky slopes and stream banks in the understory of coniferous or mixed hardwood forests at elevations up to 8000 feet in zones with mean annual precipitation of 14 to 100 inches[6].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is harvested in autumn in a cold frame[7]. Germinates in late winter or spring. Stored seed should be pre-soaked in warm water for 48 hours and then given 2 weeks warm followed by 3 - 4 months cold stratification[7]. Germinates in 1 - 6 months at 20°c[7]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a cold frame or sheltered place outdoors for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer[PFAF]. Layering in autumn. Easy, it takes about 6 months[8, 2]. Division of suckers in early spring. Very easy, they can be planted out straight into their permanent positions. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Corylus+cornuta+californica>

Pollinators

Wind

References

  1. [1]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  2. [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  3. [3]Nuts. — Howes. F. N. · Faber · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎Rather old but still a masterpiece. Has sections on tropical and temperate plants with edible nuts plus a section on nut plants in Britain. Very readable.
  4. [4]Flora of the British Isles. — Clapham, Tutin and Warburg. · Cambridge University Press · 1962 · ISBN - ↩︎A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
  5. [5]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  6. [6]Plants Database — United States Department of Agriculture · http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet ↩︎An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
  7. [7]Growing from Seed. Volume 4. — Bird. R. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1990 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Yuccas, one on Sagebrush (Artemesia spp) and another on Chaerophyllum bulbosum.
  8. [8]Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. — Sheat. W. G. · MacMillan and Co · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.
  9. [9]Flora of N. America — http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/ ↩︎An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.
  10. [10]Plants for Human Consumption. — Kunkel. G. · Koeltz Scientific Books · 1984 · ISBN 3874292169 ↩︎An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
  11. [11]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  12. [12]Plant Fibres for Papermaking. — Bell. L. A. · Liliaceae Press · 1988 · ISBN - ↩︎A good practical section on how to make paper on a small scale plus details of about 75 species (quite a few of them tropical) that can be used.
  13. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎