Witch Hazel’s Medicinal Uses

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When witch hazel flowers in late fall, its leaves are either golden with the season’s splendor or have already fallen to join the rich tapestry of the eastern deciduous forest floor. Its yellow petals resemble crimped streamers, lending a wild look to the close aggregation of flowers (one might liken them to a late-night party of fringe-element spiders). Some callous individuals lacking floral social skills have been known to describe the blooms as scraggly.

Witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana, Hamamelidaceae) is a woodland shrub that grows from Florida to Nova Scotia and west to Minnesota and Texas. It prefers to grow near streams, rivers, and wet bottomlands in partial shade to full sun, but it can be easily cultivated in regular garden soil. There are only four species in the genus Hamamelis, two being native to eastern North America and two native to eastern Asia. Hamamelis virginiana is the only species in the genus that flowers in the fall; the other species flower in winter or very early spring.

If you live in the east, late fall is a perfect time to observe these flowers. Flower lovers, get out your hand lens and get to bloomoogling! You may have to peek closely, but you should see the pistil (female part of the flower, which will develop into a woody capsule) in the center with its two recurved stigma tips surrounded by four squat stamens (pollen-bearing male structures). Gently pry open the flower to observe four tiny spatula-like structures nestled in front of the petals—these are nectar-producing staminodes.

For more about the folklore and cultivation of witch hazel, along with some recipes, visit our Witch Hazel Hub.

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Staminodes are infertile stamens, which do not produce pollen, but serve to augment pollination through a variety of means. Some staminodes are showy and attract pollinators, much like petals; others have specialized hairs, which help trap and distribute pollen. In the case of witch hazel, the function of the staminodes is to attract pollinators by producing nectar. Small flies and bees pollinate witch hazel; only one percent of the flowers ever mature into fruit. Last year’s capsules can be seen side by side with the flowers. The capsules are explosive, ejecting their two shiny black seeds up to 30 feet.
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Witch hazel explosive seed capsules

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One year I collected some of the closed capsules, yet untriggered, placed them in my seasonal treasures basket and promptly forgot about them. A couple of months later I repeatedly heard random sounds coming from the back of the house; every time I went to investigate, I couldn’t find anything amiss. For a while I thought we had a fresh crop of uppity mice, boldly running around in plain daylight. Sweeping up the ejected seeds one day, I finally put it all together—the late afternoon sun coming through the window had warmed the capsules enough to stimulate their rapid-fire opening.
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Witch hazel’s name originates from its use as a divining rod; the forked twigs bend slightly when dowsing for water. The Middle English word wiche means pliant or bendable. Dowsing was, and continues to be, a very important ancient craft in determining the best location to dig a well. The hazel in its name originates from the leaves’ close resemblance to the unrelated hazelnut (Corylus spp., Betulaceae).

The leaves of witch hazel often bear galls in the shape of a cone, caused by the aptly named witch hazel cone gall aphid (Hormaphis hamamelidis). I think the galls resemble a stereotypical witch’s hat (see the image below). Galls are formed from plant tissue in response to chemicals produced by insects that mimic various plant growth hormones. Inside the gall, insects happily munch on the plant tissue, while remaining protected from predators. The galls are formed from various plant tissues depending on the host and the insect involved.
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Witch hazel cone gall

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The witch hazel family (Hamamelidaceae) contains some notable ornamentals, often planted for their winter or early spring blooms. Pictured below is the flower of witch alder (Fothergilla sp.), a small shrub native to the southeastern United States.

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Fothergilla sp. – witch alder

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Harvesting Witch Hazel

The twigs and leaves of witch hazel can be gathered throughout the growing season, but are most potent in the springtime when the sap is running and the leaf growth is fresh.

Both can be gathered by cutting small, leaf-bearing branches from mature trees. Strip the leaves and trim the twigs into smallish sections of about 1 inch (2.5 cm). For thicker twigs or branches, you can strip the outer bark using a small knife. All parts can be used fresh or dried in baskets or on screens for later use.
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The young leaves of witch hazel twigs

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Medicinal Benefits of Witch Hazel