common name: Witchhazel
The flowers of the all but H. virginiana, are produced on the
leafless stems in winter, thus one alternative name for the plant,
"Winterbloom". Each flower has four slender strap-shaped petals
1-2 cm long, pale to dark yellow, orange, or red. The fruit is a
two-part capsule 1 cm long, containing a single 5 mm glossy black seed
in each of the two parts; the capsule splits explosively at maturity in
the autumn about 8 months after flowering, ejecting the seeds with
sufficient force to fly for distances of up to 10 m, thus another
alternative name "Snapping Hazel".