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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Witch-hazel
| image = Koeh-070.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = ''Hamamelis virginiana''
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Saxifragales]]
| familia = [[Hamamelidaceae]]
| genus = '''''Hamamelis'''''
| genus_authority = Gronov. ex [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
''[[Hamamelis japonica]]''<br/>
''[[Hamamelis mollis]]''<br/>
''[[Hamamelis vernalis]]''<br/>
''[[Hamamelis virginiana]]''
}}

'''Witch-hazel''' (''Hamamelis'') is a [[genus]] of four species of [[flowering plant]]s in the family [[Hamamelidaceae]], with two species in [[North America]] (''H. virginiana'' and ''H. vernalis''), and one each in [[Japan]] (''H. japonica'') and [[China]] (''H. mollis'').

They are [[deciduous]] [[shrub]]s or (rarely) small [[tree]]s growing to 3-8 m tall, rarely to 12 m tall. The [[leaf|leaves]] are alternately arranged, oval, 4-16 cm long and 3-11 cm broad, with a smooth or wavy margin. The horticultural name means "together with fruit"; its fruit, flowers, and next year's leaf buds all appear on the branch simultaneously, a rarity among trees. <ref name = "dick">http://www.witchhazel.com/about.htm Dickinson's Witch Hazel]</ref> The [[flower]]s are sometimes produced on the leafless stems in winter, thus one alternative name for the plant, "Winterbloom". <ref name = "dick"/> Each flower has four slender strap-shaped petals 1-2 cm long, pale to dark yellow, orange, or red. The [[fruit]] is a two-part [[capsule (fruit)|capsule]] 1 cm long, containing a single 5 mm glossy black seed in each of the two parts; the capsule splits explosively at maturity in the autumn about 8 months after flowering, ejecting the seeds with sufficient force to fly for distances of up to 10 m, thus another alternative name "Snapping Hazel". <ref name = "dick"/>

''Hamamelis'' species are used as food plants by the [[larva]]e of some [[Lepidoptera]] species including [[Feathered Thorn]].

The name ''Witch'' has its origins in [[Middle English]] ''wiche'', from the Old English ''wice'', meaning "pliant" or "bendable". ''Hazel'' is derived from the use of the twigs as divining rods, just as [[hazel]] twigs were used in England.

The [[Parrotia persica|Persian Ironwood]], a closely related [[tree]] formerly treated as ''Hamamelis persica'', is now given a genus of its own, as ''Parrotia persica'', as it differs in the flowers not having petals. Other closely allied genera are ''Parrotiopsis'', ''Fothergilla'' and ''Sycopsis'' (see under [[Hamamelidaceae]]). Witch-hazels are not closely related to the [[hazel]]s.

===Cultivation and uses===
They are popular [[ornamental plant]]s, grown for their clusters of rich yellow to orange-red flowers which begin to expand in the autumn as or slightly before the leaves fall, and continue throughout the winter. Numerous [[cultivar]]s have been selected for use as garden shrubs, many of them derived from the [[hybrid]] ''H. × intermedia'' Rehder (''H. japonica'' × ''H. mollis'').

The bark and leaves are [[astringent]]; the extract, also referred to as [[Witch hazel (astringent)|witch hazel]], is used medicinally. Extracts from its bark and leaves are used in aftershave lotions and lotions for treating bruises and insect bites. Witch-hazel is the active ingredient in many hemorrhoid medications. The seeds contain a quantity of oil and are edible.

==References==
<references/>
*[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=114541 Flora of China: ''Hamamelis'']
*[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=114541 Flora of North America: ''Hamamelis'']
*Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan.

{{Commons|Hamamelis}}
<br style="clear:both">
<gallery>
Image:Hamamelis_flowers.jpg|Close up of ''Hamamelis'' sp. flowers, [[Menai Bridge]], [[Wales]].
Image:Hamamelis Flower.jpg|''Hamamelis'' in Fürth City Park (Germany), 2004-02-08.
Image:Colonial Park Arboretum and Gardens - Hamamelis.JPG|Flowering ''Hamamelis'' in the [[Colonial Park Arboretum and Gardens]].
Image:Hamamelis Japonica x Mollis.JPG|''Hamamelis × intermedia'' (''H. japonica'' × ''H. mollis'')
Image:Hamamelis japonica0.jpg|''H. japonica''
</gallery>

[[Category:Saxifragales]]
[[Category:Medicinal plants]]

Witch-hazel - Revision history

MediaWiki default at 09:59, 14 October 2007