A tall shrub–growing up to 16 feet tall and 13 feet wide–the American hazelnut (Corylus americana) is a valuable shrub across eastern North America. It prefers full sun or partial shade. It does grow through suckers, meaning it is easy to propagate, but can be a little messy. Being monoecious, you do not need two plants in order to harvest nuts. Though smaller, the edible nuts taste similar to its more well-known European cousins. As an added bonus, this plant tolerates the American walnut, which is known for making life difficult for other species due to its allelopathy.
The American hazelnut is a host plant to at least 131 species of caterpillars, making it remarkably valuable for a relatively small plant. And of course, the nuts themselves are valuable nutrition for wildlife should you plant this bush and not harvest any of the nuts for yourself.
Native Range Map:
USDA Plants Profile
Photo credit:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=655914