Cornuta:  Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora and Flora of the Great Plains leading to this species.   young twigs and petioles glabrous to sparingly villous; NOT [young twigs and petioles usually glandular-pubescent] male catkins sessile or subsessile; NOT [male catkins peduncled] bracts united and produced into a long beak, completely enclosing the nut, and extending about 3 cm beyond nut; NOT [bracts not much united, barely covering nut] nuts enveloped by a bristly, beaked involucre; NOT [nuts subtended by campanulate to somewhat flaring laciniate involucre]

 

Corylus: Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora and Flora of Alberta leading to this genus.  staminate flower solitary in the axil of each catkin bract; NOT [staminate flowers usually three in the axil of each catkin bract] pistillate inflorescence capitate; NOT [pistillate inflorescence an ament] pistillate flowers few (2-4) in a short, but-like catkin; NOT [pistillate flowers several in an elongated catkin] fruit a nut enclosed in a leafy involucre; NOT [fruit a nutlet, often winged, in the axil of a catkin bract] involucre NOT inflated nut large, acorn like; NOT [nut small, achene-like] nuts wingless; NOT [nuts mostly winged]

 

Betulaceae: Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora leading to this family. shrubs or trees; NOT herbs flowers with only one floral ring, with sepals but not petals male flowers, at least, in catkins or aments styles 2; NOT 3 seeds WITHOUT a tuft of hairs fruit NOT an acorn