HAMAMELIS VIRGINICA. 



WITCH HAZEL. 



Tetrandria Monogynia, Linn. Bcrberides, Juss. 



GENERIC CHARACTER. 



Calix 4-cleft, persistent, with three bractes. Petals 4, long and linear, with a short, di- 

 lated filament at the base of each ; filaments and anthers united. Anthers 

 2-celled, each cell having a vertical valve. Capsule coriaceous, (nut,) 2-celled, 

 2-lobed, 2-awned ; apex 2-valved ; valves cleft. Seeds 2, arillate. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTER. 



Leaves ovate, acutely dentated, cordate, with the sinus small. Pursh. 



A large branching shrub, attaining the height and dimensions of a 

 small tree. Branches irregular, the smaller ones knotty and zig-zag 

 by inches, halves, and quarters of an inch; the knotty prominences 

 originating from the cicatrices formed where the former leaf-stalks 

 have been. Bark ash-grey, smooth, mottled with lighter spots of the 



