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Witch hazel flowers, photo: TLC Staff
By Laura Warman, Grants Manager
It's early November, and although colorful leaves are the stars of the show, there's still time to find flowers in the woods. You may know witch-hazel as a liquid you can by in the first aid or beauty section of a pharmacy - but did you know it comes from a locally native plant?
Witch hazels are shrubs and small trees in the genus Hamamelis. Of the five existing species, two are native to Asia and three are native to North America. American witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) is the species native to the Triangle and it grows all along the East Coast from Canada to Mexico. Witch hazels are woodland understory plants, they usually grow to about 15 feet tall and can spread their branches out, seeking the light that filters through the canopy of taller trees. Forked and zig-zagging twigs are one of the tell-tale signs for identifying these plants in the wild.
The leaves and bark of Hamamelis virginiana have been used medicinally for a long time. Native Americans made witch hazel poultices and teas to reduce inflammation and fever, as well as for eye and skin irritation. A series of compounds in the leaves and bark (mainly tannins) have antiseptic and astringent properties, so today witch hazel extract continues to be used in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals to reduce skin irritation (including bug-bites and poison ivy rashes), itching, and bruising.
Having it just been Halloween, you might be wondering what all this has to do with witches, but the answer might not be quite what you expect. Rather than anything related to casting spells, the name "witch hazel" probably comes from Europeans using the forked witch hazel branches to dowse for water. Also known as water-witching, the term comes form the Old English "wych" (or 'wiche') in reference to bending branches while dowsing.
Witch hazels flower in the fall and winter, which makes them an important source of food for pollinators (like winter moths) during these times of year. Each flower has four long, ribbon-like, wrinkly petals, and they grow in clusters on the stems, which makes them look like little fireworks or sunbursts. Some people say the flowers are "spidery," but somehow, they always make me think of butterfly wings that are fresh out of the chrysalis and haven't had time to iron themselves out. American witch hazel has bright yellow flowers that appear in October and November, sometimes even before all the leaves (which also turn yellow) have finished falling off the branches.
Witch hazel fruits, photo: TLC Staff
Fruit and gall of witch hazel, photo: TLC Staff
