States
North CarolinaTennesseeGeorgiaSouth CarolinaKentuckyAlabamaFloridaVirginia
Menu

Large Witch-alder

Fothergilla major

Found in forests and woodlands; streams, rivers and their banks. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

22
Good

Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 100%

Height
6–12 feet
Spread
6–10 feet
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Somewhat dry to moist

Space about 8 ft apart from its recorded spread. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source

Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.

At a glance

Life cycle
Woody perennial
Leaves
Deciduous
Bloom
Spring
Fruiting season
July to October

Recorded in 8 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 2

Forests and woodlands

Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain.
Named place / source context. Shown: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Georgia, a neighboring state.Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain., Unidentified in HFC record, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Streams, rivers and their banks

Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 118 animals.

All wildlife of Alabama

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

1CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Fothergilla

  • Datana drexeliiDrexel's Datana
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
1BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Fothergilla

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Hamamelidaceae
Hardiness
Zones 4a–8b
Soil pH
Acidic
Flower color
White
Fruit begins
July
Fruit ends
October
Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Large Witch alder; Mountain Witch Alder

Conservation status

Alabama rankS2
Global rankG3
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

Will it fit your yard?

Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.

Choose a county to begin.

How to check your spot

Sources