Colorado has a native hazelnut, known as the beaked hazelnut (Corylus cornuta). It’s a hardy shrub found mostly in the cooler, moist mountain foothills, often along stream banks or in shaded forest edges. This Hazelnut is more common in the northern mountains and Front Range than on the Western Slope. The plant produces small, sweet nuts enclosed in a long, beak-like husk, hence the name beaked hazelnut. These nuts were historically eaten by Indigenous peoples and wildlife, though the shells are quite hard.
Growing Home - Colorado's Native Hazelnut
