Hazelnut

Pollinator value: Low.  Larval host to more than 100 butterfly and moth caterpillar species.

An easy-to-grow shrub producing summer hazelnuts.  Harvested in fall, the nuts can be roasted and eaten, ground into flour or left for the birds and squirrels as well as turkey and other large birds.

If you want a good harvest, plant at least a half-dozen in part shade, and there should be plenty to go around.

Hazelnut makes a great screen or hedge and also grows well in open woodland areas where it can stretch out.  Yellowish-brown catkins appear late winter. Fall color ranges from bright yellow to shades of orange, red and purple.