Witchcraft Witch Hazel

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Against the background of gloomy clouds of late autumn, among the bare branches of shrubs and trees, the yellow, orange or red spider-like flowers of the bush with the name "Witch hazel" triumph. Their delicate scent spreads in the frosty air, enveloping the bush and giving the garden a magical halo

Habit

Witch hazel usually blooms in early spring, when other plants are still watching their winter dreams. But one of them, witch hazel virginiana, dissolves its yellow flowers in the fall, when the leaves begin to fall off the plant.

Witch hazel is a slow growing shrub that reaches a height of three meters and does not require pruning. Its light gray bark, stems and leaves are widely used in cosmetics and medicine.

Young dark green leaves, resembling hazelnut leaves in their oval and size, have rusty-brown hairs located along the bottom of the leaf. Autumn paints them yellow and reddish, turning the leaves into a vibrant garden decoration. The rusty-brown hairs disappear before the yellowed leaves leave the shoots, exposing them to funny yellow flowers with long curled petals. Bunches of several flowers densely cling to the bare shoots, enlivening the gray autumn garden.

The frost resistance of witch hazel flowers is amazing. In one botanical garden in Great Britain, the following picture was observed: at night, at a temperature of minus eighteen degrees, the petals shrank and hardened. During the day, the temperature rose, rising to zero, and the petals thawed and opened again.

Scientists have long established that plants, like humans, can experience stress. Witch hazel has an amazing stress response. Its hybrid species with orange and red petals, having experienced stress, suddenly bloom at all inopportunely, painting the petals yellow.

The witch hazel fruit is a nut-like box with two shiny seeds nestled inside. They are not edible, although some sources hold the opposite opinion. Due to the late flowering of the plant, the nuts ripen the following summer, which has given people a reason to call witch hazel by names such as "witch's nut" or "witch's hazel." This gives the plant even more mystery and special charm.

Growing

Witch hazel loves sunny places, but not too hot or semi-shaded. The soil prefers loamy fertile and moist, but without stagnant water, especially in the cold season. To maintain looseness of the soil and feed it, it is recommended to mulch with compost in spring and autumn.

The shrub does not require pruning. But, if you want to give it a certain compact shape and greater splendor of flowering, then pruning should be carried out after flowering plants that give their yellow outfit in the spring, and those that bloom in autumn should be pruned in early spring.

Witch hazel is propagated by seeds, cuttings and grafting.

The plant is resistant to pests, and is almost not affected by them. But honey mushrooms like to settle on witch hazel.

Use in medicine and cosmetology

The rich content of essential oil in witch hazel fruits, the content of astringent substances in the stems, bark and leaves of the shrub made the plant a valuable medicinal raw material for medicines, as well as attractive for the perfume industry. Due to the listed properties of the plant, witch hazel has become a regular in European "pharmaceutical gardens".

Leaves and bark for medicines are harvested in the fall. They are used in dry form, tea, tinctures and extracts, ointments are prepared.

As a vasoconstrictor, witch hazel preparations are used for varicose veins; to stop internal and nosebleeds.

The drugs are used in the treatment of skin problems, as well as in cosmetology.

Contraindications: do not exceed the recommended dosage in order to avoid lowering blood pressure, problems with the digestive system.