(Hamamelis Virginiana)
Witch-hazel is a large (four to five meters), spreading shrub, native to the southern Great Lakes/St. Lawrence and the maritime forest regions. It can be seen in the wooded areas of Canatara Park. The yellow flowers appear in late October. Early pioneers learned of the soothing and stringent properties of the plant's bark and leaves from the native people. A forked witch-hazel twig was the preferred divining rod for "dowsers" and "water witchers" in North America.