Species Spotlight: Witch Hazel
Looks like: This shrub grows as tall as 20 feet. Leaves are thick, broad, oval, and wavy-toothed. Flowers are spidery with narrow yellow petals.
Grows in: Deciduous woods and rocky slopes.
Niche: Witch hazel is unique because it blooms in the fall, after most insects are gone. The lime tree winter moth is its only known pollinator.
Threats: Over-browsing by deer.
Frequency: Common
Reproduction: Flowers bloom in late August or early September and last until November. Fruit is stored in hard, woody capsules that mature throughout the year and open when the shrub blooms, shooting shiny black seeds up to 30 feet away.
Fun facts: Witch hazel is well known as a medicinal astringent, made by distilling an extract from the bark. A form of this shrub with red petals, known as “Mohonk Red,” is found nowhere else but in the northern Shawangunks.
