Hamamelis mollis
Chinese witch hazel (Hamamelis mollis )
The plant Chinese witch hazel (Hamamelis mollis ) belongs to the genus Hamamelis ( witch hazel ). It is native to China.
- 5.1 Literature
- 5.2 Notes and references
Description
Appearance and foliage leaf
The Chinese witch hazel grows as a deciduous shrub or small tree, reaching heights of growth of up to 8 meters. It forms a funnel-shaped crown of slightly branched, sparrig spreading branches. The bark of young branches is hairy tomentose with gray stellate hairs ( trichomes ); they are later gradually bald. The small egg-shaped winter buds are hairy gray - yellowish tomentose.
The change-constant leaves are divided into petiole and leaf blade. The short, tomentose hairy petiole is 6-10 mm long. The simple leaf blade is at a length of 8 to 15 cm and a width of 6 to 10 cm wide obovate to oblong - rounded with a heart-shaped, slightly asymmetric Spreitengrund and a pointed Spreitenspitze. The leaf margin is serrated sinuate. The upper leaf surface is sparsely covered with stellate hairs and a little rough. The lower leaf surface is densely covered with gray felt-like stellate hairs and feels soft - hence the epithet mollis for soft. On each side of the main nerve, there are six to eight lateral nerves, which are raised on the underside of leaves; the two basal lateral veins have veins third order.
Inflorescence and flower
Two to five flowers are in little head -like inflorescences that develop on previous year's branches or on old wood on an upright, short of a length of about 5 mm inflorescence stem.
The flowering period extends into Central Europe from January to March, in her home in China but from April to May The 6 to 8 weeks durable to -10 ° C frost- hard buds can hang many times without apparent damage in frost during this period, tighten again when thawed. Especially in the evening they unfold at times a strong honey-like fragrance.
The hermaphrodite flowers are cruciform with a double perianth. The four brown on the outside and inside purple sepals are egg-shaped with a length of 3 mm and also on the fruit still remain after flowering. The four yellow petals are about 15 mm long and 1-2 mm wide. In the bud they are rolled, but the flowering season they protrude out from the star-shaped bloom and are only slightly curved inward front. There are four fertile stamens and four sterile, truncated stamens ( staminodes ) available as nectaries. The anthers are about equal in length to about 2 mm long stamens. On the tomentose hairy, half under constant, unilocular ovary sit two 1 to 1.5 mm long stylus.
Fruit and seeds
The woody capsule fruit is ovoid - globose with a length of about 1.2 cm and a width of about 1 cm and densely tomentose covered with yellow- brown stellate hairs. The sepals at the base are about one-third as long as the capsule fruit. The fruits mature from June to August. The seeds are about 8 mm in size.
Occurrence
The Chinese witch hazel is in China in the provinces of Anhui, Guangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan and Zhejiang wild before. It grows in thickets and in forests at elevations between 300 and 800 meters.
Systematics and botanical history
The Chinese witch hazel was discovered in 1879 by C. Marie, a plant collector, the gardener Company Veitch and Sons, Chelsea, in China. The first description of Hamamelis mollis in 1888 by Daniel Oliver in Hooker's Icones Plantarum, 18 (2 ), table 1742. A synonym of Hamamelis mollis Oliv. Hamamelis mollis is oblongifolia var MBDeng & K.Yao.
Use
Due to the early heyday before the snowdrops, the Chinese witch hazel in temperate latitudes is used as an ornamental plant in parks and gardens. The Chinese witch hazel (Hamamelis mollis ) with the Japanese witch hazel (Hamamelis japonica), the hybrids Hamamelis × intermedia, which is also used as an ornamental plant.