Witch hazel

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Witch hazel
Hamamelis × intermedia 'Angelly'

Hamamelis × intermedia 'Angelly'

Systematics
Eudicotyledons
Nuclear eudicotyledons
Order : Saxifragales (Saxifragales)
Family : Witch Hazel Family (Hamamelidaceae)
Subfamily : Hamamelidoideae
Genre : Witch hazel
Scientific name
Witch hazel
Gronov. ex L.

Witch hazel ( Hamamelis ) is a genus of plants within the witch hazel family (Hamamelidaceae). The genus Hamamelis has a disjoint area ; of the only five species, three occur in eastern North America and two in eastern Asia .

description

Illustration of Hamamelis virginiana

Appearance and leaves

Witch hazel species grow as deciduous shrubs and small trees . The star-haired bark of young twigs is gray to gray-brown. The buds are bare. The leaves are divided into a petiole and a leaf blade. The somewhat leathery or membranous leaf blades always have a crooked blade base and are convex or have a toothed leaf margin. When the large, decrepit stipules fall off, they leave clear, small leaf scars.

Inflorescences and flowers

The Hamamelis virginiana flowers in autumn. The other witch hazel species and varieties usually bloom in winter before the leaves shoot. The lateral, capid inflorescences contain only three to four flowers.

The flowers often have a pleasant smell over a wide area, with the information ranging from weakly fragrant in Hamamelis virginiana to clearly fragrant in Hamamelis vernalis . The hermaphrodite flowers are fourfold. The four egg-shaped sepals are hairy on the outside. The ribbon-shaped petals are (petals) are greenish, yellow, orange or red. There are four fertile stamens in each flower . There are also always four smaller staminodes that produce nectar. Two carpels have become a top permanent and hairy ovary grown. Each of the two ovary compartments contains only one ovule . The two styluses are short.

Fruits and seeds

The two-lobed, woody and fissured capsule fruits each contain only two black, shiny and flat seeds. The capsule fruits open explosively and hurl the seeds about 10 meters away. The hard, ellipsoidal seeds have a fleshy endosperm .

Chromosome number

The basic chromosome number is x = 12.

Systematics and distribution

Flowering witch hazel bush
Winter blossom (February) of a witch hazel in the Vogelsberg
Spring witch hazel ( Hamamelis vernalis )
Chinese witch hazel ( Hamamelis mollis )

All species are native to the temperate areas of the northern hemisphere. The genus Hamamelis has a disjoint area in eastern North America and eastern Asia.

The generic name Hamamelis was first published in 1753 by Carl von Linné in Species Plantarum , 1, p. 124. Type species is Hamamelis virginiana L. Synonyms Hamamelis L. are: Amamelis Lem. , Lomilis Raf. , Trilopus Mitch.

The genus Hamamelis belongs to the subtribe Hamamelidinae from the tribe Hamamelideae in the subfamily Hamamelidoideae within the family Hamamelidaceae .

There are four to six types of witch hazel :

Three species are native to North America:

Two species are native to Asia:

Hybrids :

evolution

Today's witch hazel species come from a relatively young genetic development. The genus Hamamelis is of monophyletic origin. The Chinese witch hazel is considered to be the basal species. All New World species have been found to be closely related to Hamamelis japonica ; the North American continent was therefore settled hypothetically via the opening of the Bering land connection from East Asia. Fossil is witch hazel for Eurasia proven. The Pleistocene Ice Ages caused their extinction here.

Use as an ornamental plant

Witch hazel species and varieties, including hybrids, are used as ornamental plants in the temperate areas . The witch hazel species grow slowly, should stand individually and be cut back as rarely as possible. They bloom in the cold season, mostly between December and February, making them one of the few species that bloom in these winter months.

Dried witch hazel bark = Hamamelidis cortex

Healing effect

The Virginian witch hazel is used intensively as a medicinal plant. The medicinal drugs obtained ( Hamamelidis aqua , Hamamelidis cortex , Hamamelidis folium ) have hemostatic, anti-inflammatory, astringent and antipruritic effects. According to Commission E , it makes sense to use it for minor skin injuries, local inflammation of the skin and mucous membranes, hemorrhoids and varicose veins . In folk medicine, it is also administered internally for diarrheal diseases.

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literature

  • Zhi-Yun Zhang, Hongda Zhang, Peter K. Endress: Hamamelidaceae. : Hamamelis , p. 32 - online with the same text as the printed work , In: Wu Zhengyi, Peter H. Raven, Deyuan Hong (Eds.): Flora of China. Volume 9: Pittosporaceae through Connaraceae , Science Press and Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing and St. Louis, 2003. ISBN 1-930723-14-8 (section description)
  • Frederick G. Meyer: Hamamelidaceae. : Hamamelis - the same text online as the printed work , In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee (Ed.): Flora of North America North of Mexico. Volume 3: Magnoliidae and Hamamelidae , Oxford University Press, New York Oxford, 1997. ISBN 0-19-511246-6 (section description)
  • J. Li et al .: Phylogeny and biogeography of Hamamelis (Hamamelidaceae). In: Harvard Pap. Bot. 5, 2000, pp. 171-178.

Individual evidence

Most of the information in this article has been taken from the sources given under literature, and the following individual references are also given:

  1. a b Veit Martin Dörken: Hamamelis spp. - Witch hazel (Hamamelidaceae). In: Yearbook of the Bochum Botanical Association. Volume 3, 2012, pp. 220-226 ( PDF file ).
  2. Frederick G. Meyer: Hamamelidaceae. Hamamelis - the same text online as the printed work , In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee (Ed.): Flora of North America North of Mexico. Volume 3: Magnoliidae and Hamamelidae. Oxford University Press, New York and Oxford, 1997, ISBN 0-19-511246-6 .
  3. ^ A b Hamamelis in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
  4. ^ SW Leonard: A new species of witch-hazel (Hamamelis: Hamamelidaceae) apparently endemic to southern Mississippi. In: Sida. Volume 22, 2006, pp. 849-856.
  5. Xie, Lei, Yi, Ting-Shuang, Li, Rong, Li, De-Zhu, Wen, Yun: Evolution and biogeographic diversification of the witch-hazel genus (Hamamelis L., Hamamelidaceae) in the Northern Hemisphere. In: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution , 2010, Volume 56, Issue 2, pp. 675-689. Abstract
  6. Willibald Pschyrembel: Pschyrembel naturopathy and alternative healing methods. 3. Edition. Berlin, New York: de Gruyter, 2006, ISBN 3-11-018524-5 .
  7. awl.ch - Hamamelis virginiana .

Web links

Commons : Witch Hazel ( Hamamelis )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Witch hazel  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations