Hamamelis virginiana (Witch Hazel)

Plant Info
Also known as:
Genus:Hamamelis
Family:Hamamelidaceae (Witch Hazel)
Life cycle:perennial woody
Origin:native
Status:
  • State Threatened
Habitat:part shade, shade; deciduous forest, forest edges, wooded slopes
Bloom season:September - November
Plant height:6 to 20 feet
Wetland Indicator Status:GP: FAC MW: FACU NCNE: FACU
MN county distribution (click map to enlarge):Minnesota county distribution map
National distribution (click map to enlarge):National distribution map

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Detailed Information

Flower: Flower shape: 4-petals

[photo of flowers] Clusters of 1 to 4 stalkless flowers arising from leaf axils all along branching stems, blooming in fall. Flowers are yellow with 4 narrow, ribbon-like petals up to ¾ inch long. Alternating with the petals are 4 very short yellowish fertile stamens and 4 greenish nectar-bearing sterile stamens, with 2 styles in the center that are densely hairy at the base.

[photo of cluster after pollination] The calyx cupping the flower is about 3/16 (5mm) across, bell-shaped, 4 lobed with the lobes curled back (recurved). The inner surface is smooth and greenish to yellowish, the outer light brown and densely covered in star-shaped hairs. The cluster stalk is about ¼ inch long and densely covered in star-shaped hairs and tiny dark scales. After pollination the petals and stamens die off but the calyx and pollinated ovary persist through winter with actual fertilization occurring the following spring.

Leaves and stems: Leaf attachment: alternate Leaf type: simple

[leaf scan] Leaves are simple and alternate, 2¼ to 6 inches long, 1¼ to 4 inches wide, broadly egg-shaped to nearly round or inverted egg-shaped (obovate), pointed to blunt at the tip, the base heart-shaped to rounded to wedge-shaped and usually asymmetric. Edges are irregularly scalloped and wavy. The upper surface is sparsely hairy to hairless, the lower is paler than the upper with scattered star-shaped hairs especially along the veins. Leaf stalks are ¼ to ¾ inch long and densely covered in star-shaped hairs.

[photo of twig with stellate hairs, and stalked terminal bud] New twigs are gray to brown and densely covered in star-shaped hairs and tiny dark scales, becoming smoother the second year. The terminal bud is ¼+ inch long, narrowly elliptic and stalked, the stalk nearly as long as the bud.

[photo of bark from mature trunk] Older bark is brown to grayish brown, rough with scattered lenticels (pores). Stems are multiple from the base, up to 3 inches in diameter at breast height, erect to ascending with ascending to spreading branches, often forming dense clumps by root suckers.

Fruit: Fruit type: capsule/pod

[photo of fruit] Fruit is a hard capsule, about ½ inch long, light brown when mature, resembling an acorn and containing 2 seeds. When mature in the fall, a year after pollination, the capsule splits along a seam and forcefully ejects the seeds up to 30 feet away.

[photo of seed] Seeds are elliptic, ¼ to 1/3 inch long, smooth and shiny black.

Notes:

Witch Hazel reaches the northwest tip of its natural range at the eastern edge of Minnesota, but has long been available in the nursery trade and occasionally planted farther west. Its preferred habitat is the understory of deciduous forests, which is at risk from development, logging and invasive species. According to the DNR, only 4 populations were known when it was listed as a Special Concern species in 1984, but after completing biological surveys in what should be suitable habitat, only 8 additional populations were discovered. It was elevated to Threatened in 2013. It stands out in the fall when the unusual flowers bloom, but can be recognized at other times by the persistent calyces, small, acorn-like fruits, alternate leaves with irregularly scalloped and wavy edges, and the star-shaped hairs on the lower leaf surfaces, twigs and stalks.

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More photos

Photos by K. Chayka taken at Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden, Minneapolis. Photos courtesy Peter M. Dziuk taken in Hennepin and Ramsey counties. Witch Hazel tree by Downtowngal (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons, used under CC BY-SA 3.0

Comments

Have you seen this plant in Minnesota, or have any other comments about it?

Posted by: Donna Duren - Oakdale
on: 2022-05-14 15:42:46

Fleet Farm in Oakdale are selling Witch Hazel shrubs.

Posted by: K Chayka
on: 2022-05-14 16:24:48

Donna, I would be cautious about buying "native" plants from a box store. You don't really know where it's coming from or if it is actually what they say it is, or a cultivar. Best bet is to buy from a reliable native plant nursery.

Posted by: Michele Hornung - West central
on: 2024-01-20 10:44:19

I would like to plant witch hazel on my property. What are my chances of success? I have no understory, the preferred place for growth.Looking to plant on a North and West location.

Posted by: K Chayka
on: 2024-01-20 11:02:36

Michele, if you are purchasing from a reliable native plant nursery, they should be able to give you advice based on your particular sun, soil and moisture conditions. Having said that, it probably won't thrive in an open, sunny location.

Posted by: Jodi russell - Rice mn in my property
on: 2024-03-13 04:24:17

I own a large amount of land along the Mississippi Husband has been clearing a building spot . As I'm researching the brush . I'm shocked ! I want to save my woods . It's been growing for hundreds of years untouched . What's left . Will stand !!

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