On cold winter days, when most everyone else is hibernating, Witch Hazel is blooming. Yellow, fragrant, spider-like flowers adorn these shrubs -- and it's a good thing for the little flying things out there looking for a bit of nectar.
Witch Hazel is a larval host to dozens of moth species including the Polyphemus moth, the relatively rare Cameraria hamameliella, and dozens of others. It's pollinated by small flies and bees, and by moths out foraging on winter nights.
Witch Hazel's foliage emerges bronze-red and turns a shiny yellow in fall. As the leaves drop, the flowers appear providing unusual winter interest.
Only one is needed for fruit, which appears as a capsule that "pops" open, shooting the small black seeds up to 30 feet from the parent plant.
Fun fact #1: The flowers and fruit on Witch Hazel can appear at the same time, which is rare.
Fun fact #2: The “witch” in Witch Hazel comes from “Wicke” in Middle English for “lively,” and “Wych,” which is Anglo-Saxon for “Bend” -- in which the the Witch Hazel sticks bend toward the ground indicating the presence of water (U.S. Forest Service).
