March Tree-of-the-Month Witch Hazel Hamamelis spp. Warm Day Cold Day On warm days in early spring witch hazel petals unfurl (like a party blower), but on cold days they roll up for protection. * Actual size of unfurled petal is about ¾ inch. 16th c. woodut adapted from Gilluly, Waters, & Woodford (1959). While witch hazel is a fascinating name, its origin has nothing to do with the characters who ride on brooms. It probably comes from the old English word wych, meaning “to bend.” Dowsers used witch hazel branches as a “witching stick” to supposedly uncover precious metal or underground water springs. They believed that the branches would bend towards the ground upon discovering these treasures. Witch hazel also has been used for medicinal purposes for centuries. Native Americans used the bark and twigs to treat anything from colds to insect bites. Since the 1850s several companies have specialized in producing witch hazel extract, which you can find today in numerous lotions, toothpastes, and soaps. See if any products you have at home list witch hazel as an ingredient. You might be surprised how many you can find! 125 Arborway Boston, MA 02130-3500 617-384-5209 www.arboretum.harvard.edu Wa W Str O D h A at oo ll F h O Pa t R Beech S O U T H S T R E ET G AT E B Spruces O ck K we h Bla Pat Dove Tree Stewartias th Forest Hills MBTA Station Orange Line W ASH I N GTO N S T R E ET G AT E t M Pa Conifer ee tp ese Azaleas d E E XPLORE RS G ARD E N E ad th South Ro c h Pa th kP a Bee ll Chin L oa A yR R O D S W O lle T Va N Oaks Oa Did you know? C ath At the Arnold Arboretum, we claim that you can find a shrub or tree in bloom here Junipers like to Beeches Firs every month of the year. Most years this is true, thanks toMour many witch hazels. AP K EY Larches Rhododendrons rP Pines Yews ife C on Heml Rh ock Hill Road odo den B dron Pa t h U S S E Y Mountain Laurels W ALT ER S T REET G ATE City Street (traffic) H E MLO CK H I LL B USSEY S TREET G ATE Bussey Stree P ET ERS H ILL t G ATE Entrance Gate Can you find the four different witch hazels marked on the map along Meadow Road? Access Road (paved) tre et P O PL AR G AT E ut eS tre h St Arnold Promise witch hazel Hamamelis x intermedia Crabapples‘Arnold Promise’ P ETERS H ILL er sH Jelena witch hazel Hawthorns Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Jelena’ ill Ro ad April–October Weekdays: 9:00am–6:00pm Weekends: 11:00am–6:00pm M E N D UM S T REET G ATE Closed holidays mi. W i l l ow Pat h 20 mi. Dana .50 km. Greenhouse .75 km. 4 3 F O R E S T H I LL G AT E B R ADLEY R OSACEO US C OLLEC TIO N ad H i l l s Ro For est B US SEY H I LL Ce nt r Letterboxing! Bench mi. eS tr e et CE N TRE STRE E T .25 km. G ATE 3 www.arboretum.harvard.edu Trash can 617-524-1718 L AR Z A N DERS O N B O N SAI C OLLE C TIO N mi. ad dow Ro M ea Visitor Center Hours April–October, 11:00am–6:00pm November–March, noon–4:00pm Closed Wednesdays L EVE N TRIT T S HRUB AN D V I N E G AR DE N e ut Ro ay/ or w Ar b Chinese witch hazel Hamamelis mollis Li n den Pat h November–March Weekdays: 9:00am–4:00pm Weekends: noon–4:00pm 4 Vernal witch hazel Hamamelis vernalis A R B O RWAY G AT E (Main E n t r an c e) 1 Hunnewell Building Hours WALTER S TREET B URYI N G G RO UN D Oaks 3 Oaks Visitor Information & Shop et 2 2 H U N N EWalking W E LPath L (unpaved) V ISITO R Main CERoad N TE R (paved) Public Restrooms Ce N Honey Locusts P ntr So 1 Plant Collection h re d et Wa Roa Pears at Oak P Hill Va l l e y R o a d lte rS Walnuts Pe t e r s et Hebrew Rehabilitation Center L Oa kP at h t Bl a ckw el l th Pa ec h Pa th Sout h S t ree EXP LORE R’ S GA R D E N h at h Coni f er P Va lle yR oa d t Pa ese Chin Letterboxing is a fun way to explore witch hazels in the woods of the Arboretum. For more information on letterboxing, and to find other letterboxes in the Arboretum, go to www.letterboxing.org. Be careful; winter weather conditions are variable! Be To find the letterbox, follow these directions: W S S S G H H G Walk down Meadow Road to 3 on the Bmap S above. G Busse y St ree P H the tree directly Continue to the bench, check the label of behind it. It should read: t G 585-88*F,WAcerH palmatum. P G Looking west into the woods a path runs along the base of the hills. Follow the path for 108 steps until you reach the witch hazel Hamamelis x intermedia P H 462-65*A. ‘Jelena’ with a an accession number N Circle around that to the back of the trunk and look for the letterbox. Follow the directions inside the box and leave everything as you found it. ALTER T REET ATE U SS E Y TRE E T ATE O P LA R ATE ETE R S M ENDU M ST REET G ATE OU T H T R E ET AT E I LL E TE RS IL L ATE St r ee t IL L E MLO C K So ut h EL D W al t er St r eet t Hi et y tre ILL W