Witch Hazel – Notable Native Herb

 

Red cultivar (Photo: Nancy Miller)

Witch Hazel

One of the Notable Native Herbs (NNH) for 2020 was Witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana). Notable Native Herb™ is the signature program of Herb Society of America’s (HSA) Native Herb Conservation committee.

The HSA chooses one or two Notable Native Plants every year. Their definition of a native herb refers "to mostly seed-bearing, generally fleshy annuals, biennials, and perennials, aromatic or useful shrubs, vines, and trees that grew naturally in this country, without the influence, accidental or intentional, of man, prior to European settlement." Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) was also chosen as an NNH for 2020.

Yellow fringe flowers
(Photo:R.McOnegal. CC BY-NC 4.0 4.0)

The outstanding feature of Witch hazel, also called winter bloom, is the bright yellow flowers with spidery petals that appear in September and last until November just as fall foliage is fading. The flowers have a sweet, slightly spicy scent. The lettuce-green deciduous leaves turn brilliant gold in fall. The open crown has large, crooked, spreading branches that provide winter interest to the landscape.

Witch hazel is native and grows in the USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 3-9 and this species is found most often in the Eastern U.S. It prefers moist but well-drained soil that is slightly acidic. It will grow in full or part sun and can grow as tall as 20 feet. It has thin, smooth, gray bark and shallow roots. The yellow and orange autumn leaves add to the landscape. There are many cultivars with a variety of colors sold as garden shrubs that are grown from hybrids of non-native species.

Autumn Leaves on Witch Hazel
(Photo: Nancy Miller)

The fruit is a woody capsule containing two seeds but this species has low fruit set. When available they are eaten by ruffed grouse, northern bobwhite and ring-necked pheasant. White-tailed deer will browse twigs and foliage. They are pollinated by bees and small flies.

Shivering Moths   (Family Noctuidae)

Courtesy Maryland Biodiversity Project
 - John Glaser

A Scientific American article describes Witch Hazel as being pollinated by a few species of owlet moths, also known as shivering moths. These moths are active during winter. During the moths rest, their body temperature drops to near freezing as they enter a state of torpor. At night, however, these moths become active by shivering, a process which raises their body temperature as much as 50 degrees, enabling them to activate their flight muscles. While they typically feed on sap, they have been observed feeding on flowers.

Native Americans considered this plant magical since it defied nature, blooming when other plants are going dormant for the winter. The witch in the name refers to an old Saxon word-wych-for bend. Forked branches from this tree were used as diving rods said to bend down to locate underground water. In the United States, the aromatic extract of leaves, twigs, and bark is used as an ingredient for topical applications such as skin toners, but individual products are not approved as drugs.

CKagan, Master Gardener