Hamamelis - Witch-hazel

Witch-hazel (Hamamelis) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Hamamelidaceae, with two species in North America (H. virginiana and H. vernalis), and one each in Japan (H. japonica) and China (H. mollis).

They are deciduous shrubs or (rarely) small trees growing to 3-8 m tall, rarely to 12 m tall. The leaves are alternately arranged, oval, 4-16 cm long and 3-11 cm broad, with a smooth or wavy margin. The horticultural name means "together with fruit"; its fruit, flowers, and next year's leaf buds all appear on the branch simultaneously, a rarity among trees. The flowers are sometimes produced on the leafless stems in winter, thus one alternative name for the plant, "Winterbloom". Each flower has four slender strap-shaped petals 1-2 cm long, pale to dark yellow, orange, or red. The fruit is a two-part capsule 1 cm long, containing a single 5 mm glossy black seed in each of the two parts; the capsule splits explosively at maturity in the autumn about 8 months after flowering, ejecting the seeds with sufficient force to fly for distances of up to 10 m, thus another alternative name "Snapping Hazel".


Cultivation and uses
They are popular ornamental plants, grown for their clusters of rich yellow to orange-red flowers which begin to expand in the autumn as or slightly before the leaves fall, and continue throughout the winter. Numerous cultivars have been selected for use as garden shrubs, many of them derived from the hybrid H. × intermedia Rehder (H. japonica × H. mollis).

The bark and leaves are astringent; the extract, also referred to as witch hazel, is used medicinally. Extracts from its bark and leaves are used in aftershave lotions and lotions for treating bruises and insect bites. Witch-hazel is the active ingredient in many hemorrhoid medications. It is also a common treatment for postpartum tearing of the perineum. The seeds contain a quantity of oil and are edible.


Species
Hamamelis mollis is a species of witch-hazel native to central and eastern China, in Anhui, Guangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, and Zhejiang. It is a deciduous large shrub or small tree growing to 8 m tall. The leaves are oval, 8-15 cm long and 6-10 cm broad, oblique at the base, acute or rounded at the apex, with a wavy-toothed or shallowly lobed margin, and a short petiole 6-10 mm long; they are dark green and thinly hairy above, and grey beneath with dense grey hairs. The flowers are yellow, with four ribbon-shaped petals 15 mm long and four short stamens, and grow in clusters; flowering is in late winter to early spring. The fruit is a hard woody capsule 12 mm long, which splits explosively at the apex at maturity one year after pollination, ejecting the two shiny black seeds from the parent plant.

Hamamelis vernalis is a species of Witch-hazel native to the Ozark Plateau in central North America, in Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. It is a deciduous large shrub growing to 4 m tall, spreading by stoloniferous root sprouts. The leaves are oval, 7-13 cm long and 6.7-13 cm broad, cuneate to slightly oblique at the base, acute or rounded at the apex, with a wavy-toothed or shallowly lobed margin, and a short, stout petiole 7-15 mm long; they are dark green above, and glaucous beneath, and often persist into the early winter. The flowers are deep to bright red, rarely yellow, with four ribbon-shaped petals 7-10 mm long and four short stamens, and grow in clusters; flowering begins in mid winter and continues until early spring. The fruit is a hard woody capsule 10-15 mm long, which splits explosively at the apex at maturity one year after pollination, ejecting the two shiny black seeds up to 10 m distant from the parent plant. Although often occurring with the related Hamamelis virginiana, it does not intergrade, and can be distinguished by its flowering in late winter, not fall.

Hamamelis virginiana is a species of Witch-hazel native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to Minnesota, and south to central Florida to eastern Texas. It is a deciduous large shrub growing to 6 m (rarely to 10 m) tall, with a dense cluster of stems from the base. The bark is light brown, smooth, scaly, inner bark reddish purple. The branchlets are pubescent at first, later smooth, light orange brown, marked with occasional white dots, finally dark or reddish brown. The foliage buds are acute, slightly falcate, downy, light brown. The leaves are oval, 3.7-16.7 cm long and 2.5-13 cm broad, oblique at the base, acute or rounded at the apex, with a wavy-toothed or shallowly lobed margin, and a short, stout petiole 6-15 mm long; the midrib is more or less hairy, stout, with six to seven pairs of primary veins. The young leaves open involute, covered with stellate rusty down; when full grown, they are dark green above, and paler beneath. In fall, they turn yellow with rusty spots. The leaf stipules are lanceolate, acute; they fall soon after the leaf expands. The flowers are pale to bright yellow, rarely orange or reddish, with four ribbon-shaped petals 10-20 mm long and four short stamens, and grow in clusters; flowering begins in about mid fall and continues until late fall. The flower calyx is deeply four-parted, very downy, orange brown within, imbricate in bud, persistent, cohering with the base of the ovary. Two or three bractlets appear at base. The fruit is a hard woody capsule 10-14 mm long, which splits explosively at the apex at maturity one year after pollination, ejecting the two shiny black seeds up to 10 m distant from the parent plant. It can be distinguished from the related Hamamelis vernalis by its flowering in fall, not winter.

Hamamelis japonica

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