Lushutseed Name: q̓ap̓ux̌ʷ (pronounced kch-ah-pkch-och)

Location: A small shrubby individual located east of the path through Heron rookery, just south of the small patch of grass.

Identifying Features light: A small tree, this species more often than not appears as a shrub, with multiple stems and a bushy appearance. An understory tree, it has beautiful soft fuzzy light green leaves in a rounded shape and with small serrations. They are deciduous. They have pinnate venation and a zig zag alternate branching pattern. In spring the male flowers appear as dangling catkins before leaves, and sit preformed all winter until that point. The female nuts appear in fall and are like acorns in appearance, but wrapped in a long papery husk which appears in silhouette like a bird's beak.  Generally a small tree, they achieve heights of around 3-15ft (1-5m) here in the Pacific Northwest. In California, a tree which is either a subspecies or close relative of Beaked Hazelnut (depending on the source) may achieve greater heights of up to 45ft (15m).

Identifying Features In Depth:

1. Form: A small tree with low apical control (many spreading trunks from a single base), lending the Beaked Hazelnut a generally bushy appearance. Generally a small tree, they achieve heights of around 3-15ft (1-5m) here in the Pacific Northwest. In California, a tree which is either a subspecies or close relative of Beaked Hazelnut (depending on the source) may achieve greater heights of up to 45ft (15m).

2. Leaves: The leaves of this species are light to bright green, rounded with a blunt end and abrupt tip. They are extremely soft to the touch, with many tiny hairs, and surrounded by irregular teeth. They are about 3.5in (9cm) in length and have pinnate venation. In fall they range from drab yellow to a reddish green before dropping to the ground.

3. Bark: The bark of these trees is a light to dark brown color and smooth. Twigs often are ascending and grow in a zigzag pattern with the alternate leaves.

4. Reproductive Bodies: Male catkins are bright yellow and dangle from branch tips in spring before new growth (they are present unopened but preformed during the winter. The female flowers are tiny and red tucked in beside leaf buds. In fall these develop into Hazelnuts, acorn-like in appearance but surrounded by a spiny splintery sheith in the shape of a bird’s head with a long protruding bill.

Historical Background: Indigenous peoples in the wide native range of this tree consume the nut, some fresh, others after being buried for storage. The twigs and stems have been used to make rope and to weave baskets and nets. Straight stems are valuable as arrow shafts. Beaked Hazelnuts are also important as a food source for a wide variety of birds and mammals, and it is rare to find a cache of ripe nuts not already picked over by one of their other consumers. These small creatures are instrumental in spreading the seeds. Indigenous peoples in many areas incorporated fire into landscape management, and Beaked Hazelnut is one of those species whose beneficial traits may be unlocked by fire, a low intensity burn allowing greater nut and soft stem production. The flowers of this species are wind pollinated and nuts appear only on branches between 2 and 18 years old. Deer, Moose, Elk, and Beaver all consume the leaves, and the thickets they create are good cover for other prey species.

Native Range: The Beaked Hazelnut has an immense native range, spanning up and down the mountain ranges of the Pacific Coast states, into the northern Rockies, and across Canada and the midwest to the Appilachians and south all the way to Alabama. It has several subspecies groups within this range as well as several other close relatives.