Witch-hazel

Leaves

Form

• Deciduous, alternate, simple
• Irregularly oval, base asymmetrical
• Texture thin
• Lower surface hairless
• Veins straight, parallel, ascending
• Widely spaced, 5–7 per side

Length

• 6–15 cm

Colour

• Upper surface dark green
• Lower surface lighter

Autumn colour

• Yellow

Margin

• Irregularly wavy or coarsely toothed

Buds

Form

• Terminal bud present, flattened, curved
• Stalked, without scales
• Densely covered with hairs
• Lateral buds much smaller
• Commonly more than 1 bud above a leaf scar

Colour

• Hairs yellowish-brown

Twigs

Form

• Slender, hairy, becoming hairless by autumn

Colour

• Yellowish, becoming brown by autumn

Flowers

Form

• 4 strap-like, twisted petals
• In clusters of 3, in the leaf axils

Length

• 15–20 mm

Colour

• Bright yellow

Structure

• Synoecious

Floral timing

• September to October

Fruits

Form

• 2-beaked, woody, hairy
• Maturing and splitting open in about a year
• Forcibly eject 2 small, shiny seeds
• Empty capsules persist on the tree for a year or more

Colour

• Orange-yellow
• Seeds black

Structure

• Capsule

Bark

Form

• Smooth or slightly scaly
• Often mottled

Colour

• Light brown
• Inner bark reddish-purple

Wood

Uses

• Bark, twigs, and leaves contain the astringent witch-hazel, used in making skin lotions and eyewashes

Size

Height

• To 8 m

Diameter

• To 15 cm

Tree form

Forest-grown

Trunk

• Leaning, crooked

Crown

• Spreading, irregular

Habitat

Site

• Moist, shaded
• As an understory tree and at the forest edge