Turkish Hazel is a large deciduous tree with edible fruits in the beech family. It can grow up to 50 feet tall when planted as a yard tree or street, however, in its native environment, it can reach heights of up to 80'. Prized by landscape contractors for its showy dense horizontal branches. Its main limbs are small in diameter compared to its straight trunk. The branches sit at almost a 90-degree angle in relation to the trunk. This makes the tree quite durable and helps maintain its symmetrical crown. Its flowers can begin to bloom in February or March, the leaves are among the last to drop at the end of the season and its bare branches add to the winter garden, giving this tree somewhat year round interest. Its female flowers are insignificant reddish scars, while the male flowers make a showy appearance in the landscape. Although edible, the thick, hard shell of the nuts can be difficult to penetrate. However, once opened, the nuts have a mild taste and a long shelf life. It is drought tolerant once established and works well in urban spaces making an excellent lawn shade or street tree. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No serious problems. Japanese beetles can defoliate portions of the tree. This tree has poor transplant survival rate.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist | Occasionally Dry | Occasionally Wet
Available space
24-60 feet
NC region
Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 40 ft. 0 in. - 80 ft. 0 in. | Width: 30 ft. 0 in. - 50 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Slow
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
1 - Canopy (>40 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Dense; Horizontal; Pyramidal
Texture
Medium
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Obovate; Ovate
Leaf margin
Denticulate; Doubly Serrate
Leaf feel
Glossy
Leaf size
3-6 inches long, 3-6 inches wide
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
5" long bright green glossy leaves with hairy veins on the underside. Fall color is unremarkable yellow.
Fall color
Gold/Yellow; Insignificant
Flower color
Gold/Yellow
Flower value
Showy
Flower form
Catkin; Insignificant
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
Early spring male flowers are yellow catkins individually clustered together and give some interest to the March landscape. Female flowers are insignificant.
Bloom time
Spring
Fruit color
Brown/Copper
Fruit type
Nut
Fruit value
Edible
Fruit size
1-3 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
Edible nuts have spiny hairy husks and appear in clusters of 3-6. Litter can be a problem in hardscape areas.
Bark color
Dark Brown; Dark Gray; Orange
Bark detail
The thick gray/brown mottled and corky bark has an orange-brown inner bark. Young shoots are hairy.
Stem detail
Young shoots can be hairy.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
Europe to Iran
Wildlife value
Nuts are enjoyed by small mammals, especially squirrels.