Witch hazel, Hamamelis virginana

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS PRODUCT IS CURRENTLY IN THE FIELDS, SO DELIVERY WILL BE MADE IN FALL 2023.

Small tree or shrub with multiple stems, with deciduous leaves, 1 to 5 m high, with smooth, brown, thin and scaly bark and numerous, long, flexible and branched branches changing direction at the nodes. According to some botanists, this zigzag configuration serves to spread out the foliage and capture the maximum amount of light despite the shade of larger trees because it is perfectly suited to shade. The leaves, which resemble those of hazelnut trees (Corylus spp.), measure 5 to 15 cm in length and have a wavy or scalloped edge and an asymmetrical base. The root system is often shallow. In the best developed subjects, the diameter of the trunk can reach 10 cm, or even in rare cases 30 cm. The largest specimens are found in the south of the range.

Witch hazel has the particular property of flowering late in autumn, often after the first frost. The flowers are fragrant, yellow, gathered in small axillary groups. They open during the yellowing of the leaves and persist after they fall. It is the only forest tree in North America whose branches can simultaneously bear ripe fruit, flowers and wood buds ready for the following year. The flowers have four twisted, strap-shaped petals, 1.5 to 2 cm long, which roll up as if to protect the flower when there is a drop in temperature and unfurl when the temperature rises and insects can resume pollination. The flowers often withstand several frosts. Virginia witch hazel produces very beautiful flowers, all the more showy since most of the trees have already lost their leaves or are in the process of losing them.
In the north of its range, witch hazel flowers between October and early December, when virtually all other species have finished flowering or have long since completed their peak flowering stage. In the south, flowering can continue until March. The fruits, which ripen the following summer, are woody, brown, pubescent capsules, 1 to 1.5 cm long, topped with two points and united in pairs. The seeds, usually two per capsule, are black and shiny on the outside and white, oily and mealy on the inside. They are small, but edible like those of hazelnut trees (Corylus spp.), which belong to a neighboring family.
The genus Hamamelis includes half a dozen species, all shrubs or small trees, with deciduous leaves. TheH. virginianais found from Minnesota, northern Michigan, southern Ontario, southern Quebec, New Brunswick and southern Nova Scotia to Texas and central Florida .
In the northern part of the range, the leaves are relatively large, the flowers are bright yellow, and the plant generally does not exceed the size of a shrub. Witch hazel has been one of the most widely used and sought after medicinal plants for centuries. http://www.passeportsante.net/fr/Solutions/PlantesSupplements/Fiche.aspx? doc=hamamelis_ps