Hamamelis virginiana ( Latin Hamamélis virginiána ) is a plant of the Hamamelis family, a species of the genus Hamamelis , wildly growing in the deciduous forests of North America and cultivated in the subtropical regions of Europe, Asia and Africa.
| Hamamelis virginianus |
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| Scientific classification |
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| View: | Hamamelis virginianus |
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| International scientific name |
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Hamamelis virginiana L. |
| Synonyms |
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- Hamamelis macrophylla pursh
- Hamamelis mexicana Standl.
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Botanical illustration from
Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen , 1887
It is a tall shrub or tree with light gray bark.
Leaves are alternating, coarse-grained, falling, pointed, serrated, dark green above, 12 cm long and 9 cm wide. Young leaves below are planted with rusty brown hairs. The old ones below are bare yellowish green.
Flowers develop in bunches of several pieces. The cup of the flower is four-leafed, seated with brown stellate hairs. Corolla consists of four narrow linear golden yellow petals.
The fruit is a light brown oval box , half enclosed in a cup. Seeds are black oblong.
The leaves of the plant ( lat. Folium Hamamelidis ) contain 7–11% hamamelitanin glycoside , free gallic acid and quercetin . Fresh leaves contain some essential oil . Leaves and bark ( Cortex Hamamelidis ) contain tannins of the hydrolyzable group [2] .
A liquid extract from the leaves is used as a hemostatic agent for internal and hemorrhoidal bleeding, as an astringent for intestinal disorders. Sometimes the bark of a plant is used for these purposes. Hard wood.
