Taps. 8573. 
HAMAMELIS veErnaA tis. 
South-eastern United States. 
HAMAMELIDACEAE. 
Hamametis, Linn.; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Plant. vol. i. p. 667, 
Hamamelis vernalis, Sargent in Trees & Shrubs, vol. ii. p. 137, t. 156; 
species H. virginianae, Linn., proxima sed praecox et stolonifera. 
Frutex deciduus, 1°5-2-metralis, stolonifer; ramuli brunnei primum indu- 
mento stellato induti, demum glabrati. Folia obovata vel elliptica, 
irregulariter grosse crenata, apice obtusa vel acuta, basi cuneata vel 
oblique truncata, supra glabra vel secus nervos stellato-tomentosa, subtus 
saepissime subglaucescentia et densius secus nervos tomentosa ; 5-10 cm. 
longa, 2°5-7°5 cm. lata; petiolus stellato-pilosus, 1-1°5 cm. longus. 
Flores in glomerulos axillares aggregati; glomeruli 3~4-flori, pedunculis 
6 mm. longis fusco-tomentosis suffulti, Calyx 4-lobus ; lobi 3 mm, longi, 
rotundato-ovati, ciliati, intus rubri, extra pubescentes. Petala 4, lutea, 
1-2 cm. longa, margine sinuata. Capsula 2-valvis, 1-2 cm. longa; valvae 
lignosae. Semina fusca vel fere atra.—W. J. Bran. 
The Witch-hazel here described and figured is of great 
interest in that, although it is a native of North America, 
it resembles the Japanese species, Hamamelis japonica, 
Sieb. & Zucc., in flowering from midwinter to spring. 
Its nearest ally is, however, the North American J/. 
virginiana, Linn., which differs in coming into flower in 
autumn whilst still in full leaf. There are several other 
points which distinguish /. vernalis, now figured, from 
H. virginiana; H. vernalis has the calyx-lobes red on the 
inner face, has a more abundant and more persistent 
pubescence on the foliage and twigs, and has dull in place 
of glossy leaves, which are rather glaucous beneath. A 
still more striking difference is the habit of spreading by 
stolons, which causes a single plant of H. vernalis to 
become in time the centre of a thicket. H. vernilis was 
introduced to Kew from the Arnold Arboretum in 1909, 
two years before its claim to be considered a distinct 
species was established by Professor Sargent. It was, 
however, first discovered by Engelmann, on the banks of 
the Upper Maramea River in Missouri in 1845, and has 
since then been met with in Arkansas and Louisiana, 
SEPTEMBER, 1914, 
