Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Saxifragales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Hamamelis virginiana var. virginiana
FAMILY
Hamamelidaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Leaves somewhat elliptical but with distinct large wavy serrations on the outer half,... leaf bases are often irregular and not symmetrical. In some places in the Piedmont and mountains it can be confused with Fothergilla major, which has wider (more rotund) leaves and a completely different flower. Read more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
The bark is still gathered in large quantities in the Southern Appalachians, as the source for witch hazel liniment. The name ‘witch-hazel’ alludes to its superficial resemblance to Corylus, the true hazel, and to the ‘perversity’ of its flowering in the fall as it drops its leaves, per Weakley's Flora (2022)
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Hamamelis virginiana
FAMILY
Hamamelidaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America
Hamamelis virginiana
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 095-02-001:
Hamamelis virginiana FAMILY Hamamelidaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Hamamelis virginiana
COMMON NAME:
American Witch-hazel, Northern Witch-hazel
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_401
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_havi4_001_lvd
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_havi4_007_lvd
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JK Marlow jkm220315_6068
March Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
Terminal buds are naked, scurfy; most buds stalked, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
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JK Marlow s050316_m
March Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
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JK Marlow jkm0404y_02
April Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
Leaves are wavy-toothed and uneven at base, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
COMPARE
leaves of Hazel Alder, Hazelnut, Witch Hazel and Witch-alder
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JK Marlow jkm140418_259
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Last year's calyx lobes.
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JK Marlow jkm160504_404
May Jackson County NC
Panthertown
Often mistaken for fruit capsules are these aphid galls with long spines, per Field Biology in Southeastern Ohio blog spot.
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JK Marlow jkm160504_409
May Jackson County NC
Panthertown
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JK Marlow jkm140607_615
June Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
Base of lateral veins included in leaf tissue (vs. marginal in Fothergilla), per Weakley's Flora (2012).
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JK Marlow jkm220607_8335
June Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
Fruit is a woody two-beaked capsule that matures in the fall one year after flowering, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).
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JK Marlow jkm0308s_20
August Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
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Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_h_virginiana_c
August
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JK Marlow jkm0410h_31
October Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
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JK Marlow jkm111008_935
October Jackson County NC
Balsam Mountain Preserve
Flowers solitary or 2-3 per axil, often appearing after leaves fall, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).
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Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_h_virginiana_6
October
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Richard Ware & Teresa Ware rtw_h_virginiana_6b
October
Calyx lobes 4, reflexed, adnate to ovary, adaxially yellow-green to yellow, per Flora of North America.
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Steve Marlow snm_102221_014witchhazel3
October Jackson County NC
Four yellow, thread-like, twisted petals about 1" long, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
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Ron Lance rwl637_a
November
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Hamamelis virginiana var. virginiana
FAMILY
Hamamelidaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Hamamelis virginiana
FAMILY
Hamamelidaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Flora of North America
Hamamelis virginiana
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 095-02-001:
Hamamelis virginiana
FAMILY
Hamamelidaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Hamamelis virginiana
637
Shrub; Tree
Perennial
Habitat: Moist to dryish forests, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common
Click here to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Yellow/Red
Bisexual
Radially symmetrical
4-lobed calyx
4 petals
FRUIT:
Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p344
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p067
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p292
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p134
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p124
- Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants p105
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p065
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p199
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p168
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p145
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p240
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p142
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p107
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p37
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p285
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p158