American Witch-hazel
Hamamelis virginiana
70
Strong
Native to Arkansas. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 15–30 feet
- Spread
- 15–20 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
Space about 17.5 ft apart from its recorded spread. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Woody perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- Fall
- Fruiting season
- Fall
Recorded in 41 Arkansas counties.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Arkansas. Shared habitat, not food. 76 animals.
- Swamp SparrowMelospiza georgiana
- Willow FlycatcherEmpidonax traillii
- Wilson's SnipeGallinago delicata
- Yellow-throated WarblerDendroica dominica
Widespread birds also seen here (59)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- American Goldfinch
- American Kestrel
- American Robin
- Bald Eagle
- Belted Kingfisher
- Black-crowned Night-heron
- Blue Grosbeak
- Blue Jay
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Brown Creeper
- Brown Thrasher
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chimney Swift
- Chipping Sparrow
- Cliff Swallow
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Yellowthroat
- Cooper's Hawk
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Downy Woodpecker
- Eastern Bluebird
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Screech-owl
- Eurasian Collared-dove
- European Starling
- Golden-crowned Kinglet
- Great Horned Owl
- Hairy Woodpecker
- Harris's Sparrow
- Hooded Merganser
- Indigo Bunting
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Orange-crowned Warbler
- Orchard Oriole
- Osprey
- Pileated Woodpecker
- Pine Siskin
- Purple Finch
- Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Red-headed Woodpecker
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Ruby-throated Hummingbird
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Tufted Titmouse
- Turkey Vulture
- White-crowned Sparrow
- White-throated Sparrow
- Wild Turkey
- Wood Thrush
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
- Yellow-billed Cuckoo
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Care
- Water through dry spells; this plant is drought intolerant.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
58CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR
Genus host records with ranges including AR · Hamamelis
- Achatia distinctaDistinct Quaker
- Acrobasis indigenellaLeaf Crumpler
- Acronicta americanaAmerican Dagger
- Acronicta funeralisFunerary Dagger, Paddle Caterpillar
- Acronicta hamamelisWitch Hazel Dagger
- Acronicta impletaYellow-Haired Dagger
- Acronicta impressaImpressive Dagger, Printed Dagger
- Adoneta spinuloidesPurple-Crested Slug
- Antheraea polyphemusPolyphemus Moth
- Apatelodes torrefactaSpotted Apatelodes
Show all 58
- Archips semiferanusOak Leafroller Moth
- Argyrotaenia quercifolianaYellow-Winged Oak Leafroller Moth, Lined Oak Leafroller
- Caloptilia superbifrontellaWitch-Hazel Caloptilia
- Campaea perlataPale Beauty, Fringed Looper
- Cecrita biundataWavy-Lined Heterocampa
- Cecrita guttivittaMaple Prominent, Saddled Prominent
- Choristoneura rosaceanaOblique-Banded Leafroller Moth, Rosaceous Leaf Roller
- Clepsis melaleucanusBlack-Patched Clepsis, Trillium Tortrix
- Coelodasys unicornisUnicorn Caterpillar Moth
- Crocigrapha normaniNorman's Quaker
- Datana drexeliiDrexel's Datana
- Datana ministraYellow-Necked Caterpillar Moth
- Drasteria grandirenaFigure-Seven Moth
- Ectropis crepusculariaThe Small Engrailed, Saddleback Looper
- Ennomos subsignariaElm Spanworm Moth
- Episimus argutanaSumac Leaftier
- Euclea delphiniiSpiny Oak-Slug Moth
- Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
- Halysidota tessellarisBanded Tussock Moth, Pale Tiger Moth
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Kocakina fidelisIntractable Quaker, Green Fruitworm, Fourlined Green Fruitworm
- Lambdina fervidariaCurve-Lined Looper Moth
- Lambdina fiscellariaHemlock Looper, Western Oak Looper
- Lithophane bethuneiBethune's Pinion
- Malacosoma americanaEastern Tent Caterpillar
- Malacosoma disstriaForest Tent Caterpillar
- Megalopyge crispataBlack-Waved Flannel Moth, Crinkled Flannel Moth
- Morrisonia latexFluid Arches, Fluid Mamestra
- Nola triquetranaThree-Spot Nola
- Orgyia definitaDefinite Tussock Moth
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Palthis angulalisDark-Spotted Palthis
- Pandemis lamprosanaWoodgrain Leafroller
- Phaecasiophora niveiguttanaLabyrinth Moth
- Phaeoura quernariaOak Beauty Moth
- Phigalia strigatariaSmall Phigalia, Small Oak Looper
- Probole alienariaDogwood Probole, Alien Probole
- Prolimacodes badiaSkiff Moth, Skiff Caterpillar
- Pyreferra hesperidagoMustard Sallow
- Rifargia subrotataSmall Heterocampa
- Satyrium liparopsStriped Hairstreak
- Schizura ipomaeaeMorning-Glory Prominent, Checkered-Fringe Prominent
- Scopula limboundataLarge Lace-Border
- Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
- Tortricidia testaceaEarly Button Slug
- Xystopeplus rufagoRed-Winged Sallow
- Zale phaeocapnaHazel Zale
- Olethreutes hamameliana
2BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Hamamelis
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
1BirdsRecorded eating Hamamelis in Arkansas
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Arkansas, most records first.
- Ruffed GrouseFruit. 1 diet record
Direct food only. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Birds that eat Hamamelis 1
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- Ruffed GrouseBonasa umbellus
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Hamamelidaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 3a–9b
- Soil pH
- Acidic
- Flower color
- Cream, yellow, red or white
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Growth habit
- Several stems
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Fall
- Fruit ends
- Fall
What its natural habitat tells you
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Fall” · USDA PLANTS (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Flower color · “Cream, yellow, red or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Fall” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Species profile fruit display season; not a local ripening date
- Fruit ends · “Fall” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Species profile fruit display season; not a local ripening date
- Growth habit · “Several stems” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Slow” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Hardiness · “Zones 3a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “15–30 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Minnesota Wildflowers, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Soil · “Moist” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Soil pH · “Acidic” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “15–20 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
American Witch Hazel; Northern Witch Hazel
Conservation status
| Arkansas rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| AR status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
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.
Sources
- Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Arkansas (2013)
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Arkansas occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications