Hamamelis (Witch Hazel)
Hamamelis (syn. witch hazel) gives its name to the witch hazel family (Hamamelidaceae). Outside the flowering season, the witch hazel resembles the hazelnut (Corylus avellana) in its growth. It is therefore colloquially called "witch hazel" by the English. However, when the plant displays its bright yellow to red thread-like petals in the middle of winter, its striking appearance is unmistakeable. The deciduous shrubs, which grow up to four meters tall, grow slowly and form funnel-shaped, upright, loosely branched crowns, which can become quite broad with age. They have smooth, light gray-brown bark. The woody fruit capsules of the witch hazel only ripen in late autumn. They then burst open and eject the black seeds.
There are a total of six wild species of Hamamelis (syn. witch hazel), two of which - the autumn-flowering Virginian witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) and the spring witch hazel (Hamamelis vernalis) - are native to North America. The Japanese witch hazel (Hamamelis japonica) and the Chinese witch hazel (Hamamelis mollis) originate, as the names suggest, from east Asia.
