Witch hazel

Yesterday morning the fall blossoms of common witch hazel captured the light and my eyes. Fall blooming is quite rare among temperate forest plants, and Hamamelis virginiana probably evolved this unusual strategy to avoid competition for pollinators with its close relative, Ozark witch hazel, H. vernalis. Nonetheless, reproductive success of H. virginiana is quite low. Check out my blog to read more about this, and see more photos of flowers and fruit capsules.
http://ouroneacrefarm.com/witch-hazel-flowers-fruit-capsules/

Janet