Witch Hazel

Hamamelis virginiana

Hamamelidacea - Witch Hazel Family

Common names: Winterbloom, Snapping Hazelnut, Spotted Alder

It is so easy to walk into nearly any drugstore world wide and purchase a bottle of Witch Hazel, but where does it come from, how is it made, and what is it used for? Over 200 years ago, many different American Indian tribes living on the East Coast of the United States used this native shrub for medicinal purposes. Steven Foster, in his book "Herbal Renaissance," explains that they would cut the bark off the trees and lift out the inner bark to make a poultice to reduce inflammation and relieve pain. They would also infuse the leaves and twigs in water, add hot stones to make a tea, and sweeten it with maple sugar, another product of the area.

Nowadays, leaves, twigs and branches are cut from the shrubs and small trees to use in the making of Witch Hazel. Steven Foster says, "The recently cut twigs are soaked in twice their weight of warm water for about 24 hours. This infusion is distilled and sufficient alcohol is added to preserve the distillate." Other commercial products are made in the form of suppositories, ointments and after-shave lotions.

Today a bottle of Witch Hazel is useful for a number of external conditions including skin problems, scratches, insect bites, sunburns, hemorrhoids, varicose veins, bruises and sprains. Cotton balls are handy to apply the Witch Hazel or a bandage can be wetted and placed over the injury.

General Description: Some species are small shrubs while others, like common Witch Hazel, grow into trees which have several branching trunks and forked branches with gray bark. The leaves are oval with shallow-toothed edges, similar to scallops. It is interesting to note that the leaves fall before the bright, yellow flowers appear in September and October. These clustered flowers with their four narrow, thread-like petals are quite striking.

Range: Native to temperate areas of Eastern Asia and also the Eastern United States and Canada.

Habitat: Common Witch Hazel can survive in a wide range of soils and will grow in full sun or partial shade.

Witch Hazels are good medicinal trees as well as interesting landscape plants which provide colorful flowers. By planting three different varieties, there would be continuous bloom in shades of crimson or yellow flowers from fall to early spring.