Hamamelis virginiana (Common Witch Hazel)

Native to eastern North America, this deciduous shrub or small tree blooms in autumn and early winter as its leaves turn yellow and fall. The clustered, fragrant flowers have narrow, ribbon-like yellow petals that extend on warm days and curl inward near freezing temperatures. Woody seed capsules take about a year to mature, so ripe fruit can appear alongside the next season’s flowers. When the capsules split, they eject their dark seeds over a considerable distance. Bark and leaf extracts have long been used in commercial witch-hazel products. Photographed in Ecuador.