Virginia Tech Dendrology

hybrid witch-hazel Hamamelidaceae Hamamelis xintermedia Rehder [japonica x mollis] symbol:
Leaf: Alternate, simple, inequalateral, 3 to 6 inches long, ovate to broadly oval, wavy toothed, base often very wedge-shaped, dark green above, paler and often densely fuzzy below. Generally the leaves have good yellow to red fall color.
Flower: Yellow to copper to red (cultivar dependant), each about 1/2 inch across, long (1/2 inch), thin, thread-like petals, appearing in bunches from late winter to early spring.
Fruit: Dry woody capsule (1/2 inch long), black seeds are forcible discharged when they split into two in late summer, initially green-brown and later turning tan, old capsules persistent.
Twig: Slender, scruffy light brown; vegetative buds naked, appear as a folded, small leaf; flower buds round, clustered and stalked.
Bark: Smooth, gray-brown, some reddish lenticels.
Form: A suckering, multi-stemmed shrub reaching 15 to 20 feet tall. Most types are wide spreading.
Looks like: vernal witch-hazel - witch-hazel - Persian ironwood - dwarf fothergilla

Additional Range Information: Hamamelis xintermedia is planted in the USDA hardiness zones shown above and is not known to widely escape cultivaton. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links:
All material 2021 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information