HAMAMELIDACEAE 



97 



and capped b\ 2 short styles. The fruit is a woody capsule, 

 which is at length 2-valved at the summit and contains an ob- 

 long, shining seed. 



There are three known species in this genus, two of which 

 occur in Japan. The third is native in eastern North America. 



HAMAMELIS VIRGINIANA Linnaeus 

 Witch-Hazel Spotted Alder 



The Witch-Hazel, fig. 21, is a shrub, or less often a small 

 tree, reaching at the most a height of about 20 feet, with 

 slightly scurfy or glabrous twigs and short-petioled, ovate or 

 broadly oval leaves that are pointed to obtuse at the apex and 

 somewhat cordate and asymmetrical at the base. Bright yellow 

 flowers occur in axillary clusters late in the season. The leaves 

 are stellate pubescent, at least when young, 2 to 5 inches long, 

 thick, and repand-dentate. 



The flov.ers are nearly sessile and have narrow petals about 

 one-sixteenth inch wide and 1/2 to ^ inch long. The lobes of the 

 calyx are spreading or recurved, oval, and ciliate and pubescent 

 on the outer surface. Capsules mature during the second season. 



FIG. 21 

 Hamamelis virginiana 



