BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Hamamelis virginiana | Witch-Hazel 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Witch-hazel is a deciduous shrub or small tree with a short trunk,
bearing numerous spreading, crooked branches.  At maturity, it is
commonly 15 to 25 (4.5-7.5 m) feet tall.  It has thin bark and shallow
roots.  The fruit is a woody capsule containing two to four seeds
[19,20,21,23].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Phanerophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Witch-hazel reproduces mainly by seed.  After maturing the capsules
burst open, explosively discharging their seeds several yards from the
parent plant.  There is limited dispersal by birds. The seeds germinate
the second year after dispersal [5,29].  Brinkman [4] reported that
witch-hazel can be propagated by layering.



SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Witch-hazel is found on a variety of sites but is most abundant in mesic
woods and bottoms.  In the western and southern parts of its range, it
is confined to moist cool valleys, moist flats, north and east slopes,
coves, benches, and ravines.  In the northern part of its range, it is
found on drier and warmer sites of slopes and hilltops [1,6,8,27].

In addition to those species listed under Distribution and Occurrence,
common tree and shrub associates of witch-hazel include white ash
(Fraxinus americana), blackgum, mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia),
blueberry (Vaccinium spp.), rhododendron (Rhododendron spp.), pepperbush
(Clethra acuminata), sweetgum, flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), and
eastern hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana) [6,7,20,30].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Facultative Seral Species 

Witch-hazel is a shade-tolerant, mid- to late-seral species.  It
sometimes forms a solid understory in second-growth and old-growth 
forests in the eastern United States [9,13,14].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
The flowers of witch-hazel open in September and October, and the fruit
ripens the next fall.  Shortly after ripening, the capsules burst open,
discharging their seed [4,5].

Related categories for Species: Hamamelis virginiana | Witch-Hazel