Japanese witch hazel
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Japanese witch hazel ( Hamamelis japonica ) |
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| Hamamelis japonica | ||||||||||||
| Siebold & Zucc. |
The plant species Japanese witch hazel ( Hamamelis japonica ) belongs to the genus Witch Hazel ( Hamamelis ). As the epithet indicates, it is native to Japan and is known there by the common name Mansaku ( 満 作 ).
description
The Japanese witch hazel usually grows as a deciduous shrub , rarely reaching the size and stature of a small tree . It reaches a height of 3 to 4 meters and forms a broad, spreading, funnel-shaped crown of sparsely branched, sparsely protruding branches. The gray bark of young twigs is covered with star hairs ( trichomes ).
The alternate leaves are divided into a petiole and a leaf blade. The petiole measures 0.5 to 2 centimeters. The simple leaf blade is 5 to 10 centimeters wide and oval to obovate. At the base they are somewhat asymmetrical, rounded to slightly heart-shaped. The front ends of the leaf pointed or rounded. The edge of the sheet is wavy. The underside of the leaf is hairy when it shoots, but later becomes bald except for the veins. Usually seven (also five to nine) leaf veins branch off at an acute angle on each side of the midrib. The autumn color of the leaves is orange to red.
The slightly fragrant flowers appear on the annual twigs in January to March; they do not yet freeze to death in moderate frosts (down to about −5 ° C). The short-stalked flowers are in several heads in inflorescences . They have brown, velvety sepals and four strap-shaped, light yellow, often somewhat wrinkled-looking petals 1 to 1.7 cm in length. When it is frosty, these roll up or hang limply; when thawing they tighten and straighten up again. This can happen every day during the several weeks of flowering.
The number of chromosomes is 2n = 24.
distribution
The Japanese witch hazel is only found in Japan, but there on all of the main islands.
use
It is planted as an extreme early bloomer and because of its colorful autumn leaves and the sepal effect, it is occasionally planted in temperate latitudes. More important is the hybrid with the Chinese witch hazel ( Hamamelis mollis ), Hamamelis × intermedia . There are some varieties of the Japanese witch hazel, which, however, were all classified as "dispensable" in the Dutch woodland inspection, as they are surpassed in their garden value by the Hamamelis × intermedia varieties.
literature
- WJ Bean: Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles . Vol. II, 8th edition, 1973. ISBN 0719522560 , pp. 317-318.
- A. Bärtels: Encyclopedia of the garden trees . Ulmer Stuttgart, 2001. ISBN 3800131986 , p. 211.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hamamelis japonica at Tropicos.org. In: IPCN Chromosome Reports . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
