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The Witches Around Us


Witch hazel or Hamamelis virginiana is one of the famous witches that escaped the Salem Witch trials. With magical skin healing properties, and the ability to find water belowground, there are not many things these witch’s can’t do. Except walk, because they are shrub-like plants, literally connected to the earth.

Witch hazel is a shrub-like plant, native to the United States and Canada. Over the winter, fertile yellow flowers are produced, marking a gray landscape with color, just before spring pops out.

Adorned with smooth gray bark, you can see this plant in all its yellow flowered greatness along roadsides, in neighborhoods and throughout urban landscapes. In the fall, these miraculous plants produce crinkly yellow flowers that are wonderfully fragrant. If you think you see a witch hazel flower, and it doesn’t smell, it might me a non-native look a like! Witches have their ways of tricking people.

Historically, people used the branches of witch hazel, as dousing rods to find water. Now, science says that dousing for water using witch hazel branches isn’t so accurate or real, but that doesn’t mean it’s not fun to try ;)

Today, people use witch hazel (astringent) on the regular, to treat minor cuts and abrasions, or even eczema! Witch hazel astringent is easy to find at your local drug store, but make sure that if you do use it, you thank your local witch hazels for their magical healing powers. #respecttheplant #witchhazel #shellputaspellonyou

Additional Resources:

General witch hazel info:

http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=a749

http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=HAVI4

Witch hazel native range:

https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=havi4

http://www.psu.edu/dept/nkbiology/naturetrail/speciespages/witchhazel.htm

Witch hazel lore:

https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/hamamelis_virginiana.shtml

Dousing:

https://water.usgs.gov/edu/dowsing.html

Comment with your witch hazel encounter photos below!

Know the plants around you! Save plants to save the planet!

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