PLANTED: Finding your Roots in STEM Careers – Plant Profile Episode 5 – Favorite plant of Trinity Pierce

Ecological Profile Common Name: ● Habit: Witch Hazel can grow up to 25 feet. Witch Hazel is a deciduous, woody plant. Witch Hazel Witch Hazel species tend to have bright ribbon-shaped petals. Scientific name: ● Habitat: Three species of Witch Hazel are native to North America, including Vernal Witch Hazel (mid- Hamamelis south U.S.), Common Witch Hazel (Midwest-east), Family: Hamamelidaceae and Big-leaf Witch Hazel (southeast). There are two other kinds of Witch Hazel in China (Hamamelis mollis) and Japan (Hamamelis japonica). ● Species dependent: Birds enjoy the seeds released by the plants for food. Azure butterflies use Common Witch Hazel for their larvae. Witch Hazel is pollinated by flies. Deer and squirrels will eat

Caption: Petals of American Witch Hazel from The Morton Arboretum. both the branches and seeds of Witch Hazel.

Plants and People ● The Cherokee tribe used Common Witch Hazel for throat, skin, and eye remedies. The Iroquois tribe used Witch Hazel for heart and kidney treatments, as well as a cold medicine. In fact, they even used

Caption: Leaf of Vernal Witch Hazel from The Morton Arboretum. it to help a toothache.

IUCN Threat Level ● Threat identified: American Witch Hazel has a wide range, and has stable populations throughout the eastern U.S. American Witch Hazel is currently listed as least concern.

Caption: Vernal Witch Hazel from The Morton Arboretum Herbarium. Cool Facts ● Bloom time! They are often one of the first or the last flowers you see. ● Big-leaf Witch Hazel was first documented in 2004. Big-leaf Witch Hazel was mistaken for a hazelnut tree, because of how much larger the leaves were compared to American Witch Hazel. Caption: Range map of American Witch Hazel. Green=Species present. Yellow=Present, but rare. Blue=Exotic and present. Orange=Extirpated. ● The bark of Common Witch Hazel has been used http://bonap.net/MapGallery/State/Hamamelis%20virginiana.png to make after-shave, toner, and astringent.

PLANTED: Finding your Roots in STEM Careers – Plant Profile Episode 5 – Favorite plant of Trinity Pierce

Sources: University of Kentucky, college of Agriculture, Food and Environment. Common Witch Hazel. Retrieved from http://www.uky.edu/hort/Common-Witchhazel The Biota of North America Program. [Range map of Hamamelis virginiana]. Retrieved from BONAP website: http://bonap.net/MapGallery/State/Hamamelis%20virginiana.png University of Copenhagen, The Arboretum in Horsholm. Japanese witch hazel - Hamamelis japonica. Retrieved from https://ign.ku.dk/arboretum-hoersholm/plant_descriptions/march_hamamalis_japonica/ University of Connecticut, College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources. Hamamelis mollis. Retrieved from http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/detail.php?pid=199 Native American Ethnobotany Database. Hamamelis virginiana L. Retrieved from http://naeb.brit.org/uses/species/1799/ The Morton Arboretum. Common witch-hazel. Retrieved from http://www.mortonarb.org/trees-plants/tree-plant-descriptions/common-witch-hazel United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. Big-leaf witch-hazel (Hamamelis ovalis). Retrieved from https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/hamamelis_ovalis.shtml United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. Hamamelis L. witchhazel. Retrieved from https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=HAMAM Pennsylvania State University. Hamamelis virginiana. Retrieved from the Virtual Nature Trail at Penn State New Kensington website: https://www.psu.edu/dept/nkbiology/naturetrail/speciespages/witchhazel.htm Missouri Botanical Garden. Hamamelis virginiana. Retrieved from http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=a749 The Morton Arboretum. [Image of Hamamelis virginiana L.]. Retrieved from http://vplants.org/portal/imagelib/imgdetails.php?imgid=563008 The Morton Arboretum. [Herbarium specimen of Hamamelis virginiana L.]. Retrieved from vPlants website: http://vplants.org/portal/collections/individual/index.php?occid=4246318&clid=0 The Morton Arboretum. Vernal witch-hazel. Retrieved from http://www.mortonarb.org/trees-plants/tree-plant-descriptions/vernal-witch-hazel