RHS Other common names
American witch hazel, snapping hazel nut, spotted alder, winter bloom
Synonyms
Hamamelis androgyna, Hamamelis caroliniana, Hamamelis communis, Hamamelis corylifolia, Hamamelis dentata, Hamamelis dioica, Hamamelis estivalis, Hamamelis hyemalis, Hamamelis macrophylla, Hamamelis monoica, Hamamelis nigra, Hamamelis parvifolia, Hamamelis riparia, Hamamelis rotundifolia, Hamamelis virginiana var. angustifolia, Hamamelis virginiana var. orbiculata, Hamamelis virginiana var. parvifolia, Hamamelis virginica, Hamamelis virginica var. macrophylla, Hamamelis virginica var. parvifolia, Trilopus dentata, Trilopus estivalis, Trilopus nigra, Trilopus nigra var. catesbiana, Trilopus parvifolia, Trilopus riparia, Trilopus rotundifolia, Trilopus virginica
An erect large shrub up to 5m high (or occasionally a small tree up to 10m high) with smooth, broadly-oval, obovate, or nearly-round leaves, up to 15cm long, which open light green before becoming dark green. Clusters of sweetly-scented flowers with slightly-twisted, crimped, pale yellow petals, about 16mm long, appear from mid-autumn to late autumn, the flowers emerging while the leaves are still green and remaining as the leaves turn golden yellow and fall. H. virginiana is the species from which medicinal witch-hazel extract is made
Position
Soil Types
Max Height
4-8 metres
Max Spread
2.5-4 metres