Plants of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden

Common
Name

Scientific
Name

Plant
Family

Garden
Location

Prime
Season
Witch hazel
Hamamelis virginiana L.
Witch Hazel (Hamamelidaceae)
Woodland
Autumn, late, sometimes after the Garden closes
Other names and notes
(American Witch Hazel, Snapping Hazelnut, Spotted Alder, Winterbloom). A woodland understory shrub, rare in Minnesota, reaching from 12 to 20 feet in height having several twisted branching trunks, with leaves that are alternate, broad and rounded and have shallow lobes. Leaves have an astringent, bitterish aromatic taste. Mature plants have leaves 3 to 5 inches long and 3 inches wide. The gray-brown bark is smooth on small branches, but slightly rougher on larger stems and twigs have many leaf scars. The ragged looking flowers which usually bloom in groups of three and only in the autumn once the leaves begin to die, are 4-parted with very narrow long yellow petals resembling twisted straps. The cluster grows on a stalk from the leaf axils. While pollination occurs in the autumn, the pale brown woody fruit matures only the following autumn after being fertilized in the spring. The beaked seed capsule then splits and violently discharges two shiny black seeds, hence one of the common names - Snapping Hazelnut. (See commentary below on the mechanism of seed dispersal). The seed inside the small nut is considered edible. The plant produces suckering stems but reproduces only by seed. The genus name is Greek and is believed to be derived from plants resemblance to an apple tree. Virginiana refers to the state of Virginia where the plant was first classified.
Witch hazel flower
 Witch hazel leaf
Above and Below: The narrow strap like flowers are normally clustered three to a group and rise from the leaf axils. Flowers appear as the leaves begin to die on mature plants, earlier on young plants. Note the short stalk of the flower cluster. Above: The rounded leaf with small lobes and pointed tip. Below: The seed capsules, shown in the Spring, that when mature later in the season will discharge the black nuts.
Witch hazel flower group
 Witch hazel seed
Witch Hazel Bark Witch Hazel twig
Above: The gray-brown bark of a large stem, somewhat smooth Above: An old twig showing numerous leaf scars.
Below: Former Gardener Cary George with the Witch Hazel blooms of Nov. 16, 1999. The last flowers of the season. Below: A small specimen recently planted (2008). On older plants the leaves will start dropping before flowering.
Cary George with Witch Hazel

Witch hazel plant
 
"The lingering flowers are one by one finishing their bloom. Yet there is one wild flower that will remain even until bleak November. It is the Witch Hazel, which waited late to bloom but now the woods brighten with the yellow fringy petals. After the large leaves have turned brilliant colors and long since fallen, almost overnight, the mass of yellow flowers appears." Martha Crone, Former Garden Curator, Published in The Fringed Gentian™ Vol. 8 #4 and Vol. 17 #4.
Witch hazel branch
 

Notes: Eloise Butler recorded introducing this plant to the Garden on April 14, 1910 with three plants obtained from Jewell's Nursery in Lake City, MN. This plant was listed on Martha Crone's 1951 inventory of plants in the Garden at that time. The plant is native to Minnesota but the DNR only reports its presence in four counties: Winona, Fillmore and Houston in the SE and Chisago in Central MN. Distribution in North America is eastward from a line running from Manitoba to Texas. There is a very old Witch hazel growing near Station 31 (pictured above with Cary George). In May of 2000, Gardener Cary George planted a donated young plant on the uphill path to the Upland Garden from the back gate. It was in memory of Betty Bridgman, longtime member of The Friends and editor of the Friends' newsletter The Fringed Gentian™ and a renowned local poet. That plant is listed in the Minneapolis Heritage Tree List for cultural significance. In 2003 Cary George reported six specimens in the Garden. A number of young plants were installed in late 2008 in the area near the Mallard Pool. Special Concern: Witch Hazel is listed on the Minnesota DNR "Special Concern List" and a listing as "threatened" is under study (2012).

Medicinal: The leaves and bark are used. The leaves were listed in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia (the USP). They are tannic, have gallic acids, an unknown bitter principle and other odorous bodies giving them an astringent, bitterish aromatic taste. The bark has similar properties but was not listed in the USP. These properties were considered useful for checking internal and external hemorrhage, the treatment of piles, and useful for treating bruises and inflammatory swellings. Hence an application of witch hazel extract, applied with a moistened pad of cotton, and applied to an insect bite would soon cause the swelling and pain to dissipate. This extract, if diluted, could be used for eyelid inflammation. In older days, this extract was available from stores as "Pond's Extract of Witch Hazel" and was recommended for many ailments.

The Native Americans of the eastern areas used Witch Hazel as a poultice for swellings and tumors. A tea made from the leaves or the bark would be a good weak treatment for complaints of the bowels. Almost any inflamed condition could be treated with Witch Hazel and provide relief. There is considerable mention in Russian Literature of the benefits of this plants, although the plant had to be imported there as it was not native. Its branching form made it ideal for early settlers' divining rods. Additional information in Grieve (Ref.#7) and Hutchins (Ref.#12).

Literature: American poet John Greenleaf Whittier, (1807 - 1892) wrote about this plant in Hazel Blossoms. Read it.

The explosive dispersal of the seed has been mentioned by several prominent writers, among them Edwin Way Teale and Henry D. Thoreau. Thoreau explains how it works. Read there comments here: info button

 

  
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References: Plant characteristics are generally from sources 15, 16, 30, 31, 33, W2 & W3. Distribution principally from W2 and also 31, 34 and W1. Planting history generally from 1, 4 & 4a. Other sources by specific reference. See Reference List for details.  
©2008-2012 Friends of the Wild Flower Garden, Inc. All photos are the property of The Friends of the Wild Flower Garden unless otherwise credited. "www.friendsofthewildflowergarden.org" 111012