Witch Hazel
Hamamelis virginiana
Embedded Files
Witch hazel grows along the entire Appalachian Mountain Range. It reaches south to northern Florida, west to eastern Texas through Minnesota, east to the coast, and north to southern Ontario and southern Nova Scotia. Scattered populations are found in south-central Texas and east-central Mexico. This is similar to the native distribution. Witch hazel tolerates partial shade to full sun, but prefers full sun. It also prefers moist, acidic, well drained soils.
Fruit: A 10-15 mm long blunt woody capsule containing two shiny black seeds. When they ripen in autumn, seeds are forcibly expelled. Empty capsules remain on the plant through winter.
Flowers: A yellow, spider-like flower with 4 crinkly petals, arranged on a cyme in leaf axils. They bloom in September or October and persist after leaf fall.
Uses: The leaves, twigs, and bark can be used to make medicinal extracts, lotions, and salves. It's planted as an ornamental for its attractive leaf coloring in fall and flowers.
Ethnobotany: Witch hazel has been used in folk medicine for hundreds of years. In the past, witch hazel branches were used for dowsing, a process in which branches or rods are held with the conception that they would move to locate underground water or precious metals. Extracts from the twig were once believed to infuse the drinker with occult powers.
Importance to wildlife: The fruit is eaten by ruffed grouse, northern bobwhite, ring-necked pheasant, white-tailed deer, beavers, cottontail rabbits, and occasionally black bears.
The trunk of witch hazel (along with other species). Witch hazel can be classified as either a shrub or a small tree. There is only one healthy stem on this witch hazel (the darker trunk to the right), as all others in the picture are from other species or are dead.
The bark of witch hazel. Bark is thin and smooth or minutely scaly.
A single leaf on a witch hazel. Leaves are 5-15 cm long, coarsely wavy toothed, usually unsymmetrical at base, covered at first with star-shaped clusters of hair but later nearly glabrous.
The bud of a witch hazel. Terminal buds are flattened, brown-woolly, and naked but often partly covered by two scalelike stipules. Lateral leaf buds are similar but smaller.
The leaf arrangement on witch hazel. Leaves are simple, two-ranked, and alternate.
The open fruit pod of a witch hazel after ripening.
Page updated
Report abuse