Image: Wikimedia Commons (See link for license)
Witch-hazel family
Hamamelidaceae
マンサク科
A family of about 30 genera and 100 species including Hamamelis, Corylopsis, and Distylium. Woody plants distributed in temperate to subtropical Northern Hemisphere. Hamamelis, flowering in early spring with distinctive ribbon-like yellow petals before leaf emergence, is a representative Japanese species.
Key Characteristics
- ●Petals mostly narrow and linear (ribbon-like)
- ●Leaves alternate, sometimes asymmetric
- ●Woody plants (trees to shrubs)
- ●Fruits are woody capsules that dehisce explosively to eject seeds
- ●Often bearing stellate or peltate trichomes
Morphological Traits
A family may include species with different trait values — multiple values indicate the range within the family.
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Pinnate / Palmate
Leaf margin
Entire
Growth form
Shrub / Tree
Evergreen/Deciduous
Evergreen / Deciduous
Leaf dissection
Dissected / Undivided
Stipules
Present
Aromatic
Aromatic / None
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Petal fusion
Free / Fused
Ovary position
Superior / Inferior / Half-inferior
Stamen count
3-4 / 5
Plant sex
Hermaphrodite / Monoecious
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Core eudicots > Saxifragales > Hamamelidaceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous to Paleogene (approx. 70 million years ago)
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Evolution of extreme phenological adaptation with early spring flowering
- ・Development of ballistic seed dispersal through woody capsules
Plants in Witch-hazel family on this site
AI-generated, needs verification