hama – at the same time (Greek)

milo – “apple” or “fruit” (Greek), reference to flowers and fruit appearing on the plant at the same time, since fruit from previous season ripens when flowers of the current season are expanding (especially for fall-flowering species such as H. virginiana)

witch-hazel – English translation of Greek name (amamilis) used for Hippocrates for medlar, Mespilus germanica Linnaeus, which looks like a large rosehip

Native range: E. Asia, E. North America

Leaves:

• alternate
• simple
• short petiole
• base oblique
• margin deeply undulate or serrate
• palmate and pinnate veins on same leaf
• parallel veins assymmetric at base (all the way up on many)
• secondary veins go all the way to the margins
• deciduous stipules
• ~5–6” across

Flowers:

• clusters on short shoots in leaf axils
• perfect
• 4 sepals, small and persistent
• 4 petals:
  • long and linear
  • colored yellow, orange, or red
  • most liek crinkled tissue paper
• 4 stamens
• 4 stamenoids w/ nectar
• 2 styles
• fertilized flowers will form fruit over a long period extending through winter and into the following growing season

Fruit:

• 4-lobed capsule
• fuzzy
• splits open to eject 2 seeds

Other characteristics:

• shrubs or small trees to 35 ft.
• spreading form
• deciduous
• buds brown and fuzzy
• bark gray
• nice fall color
• flowers before leaves, usually in late winter/early spring
• some species – dead leaves persis

Other notes:

• H. mollis (Chinese witch-hazel) introduced into cultivation in English in 1879 from seed collected in China by Charles Maries, British plant explorer
• WA Arboretum collection includes: H. japonica, H. mollis & H. virginiana

Ecology & Adaptations:

• H. mollis is native to Central China
• H. virginiana is native to the mountains, piedmont, and coastal plain of Eastern North America, particularly woodlands, forest margins, and stream banks
• shade tolerant:
  • pronounced horizontal orientation of branches/twigs and leaves to capture maximum light
  • relatively thin leaves minimize investment required for maximum photosynthesizing area
• vegetative reproduction: spreads vegetatively via suckers (stems produced from roots) or stolons (modified stems growing horizontally on the ground)
• pollination: flowers are pollinated by winter-flying noctuid moths
• seed dispersal:
  • each (dehiscent) seed capsule splits open in the growing season of the following year, exploding the 1–2 black seeds within up to 30 ft
  • some dispersal by birds
• wildlife:
  • wild turkeys eat the seeds of this plant, and white-tailed deer browse the leaves
  • birds, such as ruffed grouse, white-tailed deer, beaver, and cotton-tailed rabbit eat the fruit of H. virginiana
• herbivore defense - active compounds (tannins, glycosides) in leaves prevent herbivory and enable this species to become a dominant understory species in eastern U.S. forests