[ **up: [[Plants]] | [[Flora, Chinese]]** ] --- # Chinese witchhazel (*Hamamelis mollis*) **Binominal:** *Hamamelis mollis*.[^1] **Chinese:** 金缕梅 (Jin Lu Mei).[^1] --- > Native to forests and thickets of central China, the Chinese witchhazel brightens the mid-winter landscape with its lovely golden yellow flowers. The highly fragrant flowers are borne in small clusters on the twig ends from February into early March. This large shrub also puts on an autumn display when the foliage turns shades of yellow and orange. *Hamamelis mollis* is one of the parents of *Hamamelis ×intermedia*, a series of witchhazel cultivars, which have been selected for outstanding flowers, form, and vigor. > > The leaves, flowers, fruit, bark and roots are all used in traditional Chinese medicine to reduce fevers, improve blood circulation and increase energy. An oil extracted from the bark and twigs is used in cosmetics and as a skin astringent.[^1] [^1]: Liu Yan, ‘[[Liu. ‘Highlighting Chinese Plants in the Morris Arboretum’, 2009.|Highlighting Chinese Plants in the Morris Arboretum]]’, *Internship Program Reports* 93 (1 March 2009), p. 24.