Side by side
Hazel or witch hazel? How to tell them apart
Corylus avellana · Hamamelis
How to tell them apart – hazel: flowers with hanging catkins and bears hazelnuts; witch hazel: shrub with hazel-like leaves that flowers in the depths of winter with fragrant, spidery yellow or orange-red flowers.
How do you recognise them?
- Hazel
- Round, softly hairy leaf with a short pointed tip; yellow catkins in winter, and hazelnuts.
- Compared with witch hazel: flowers with hanging catkins and bears hazelnuts.
- Witch hazel
- Shrub with hazel-like leaves that flowers in the depths of winter with fragrant, spidery yellow or orange-red flowers.
| Hazel | Witch hazel | |
|---|---|---|
| Leaves | Alternate, almost round with a short pointed tip, 6–12 cm, double-toothed, softly hairy; heart-shaped base. | Alternate, 8–15 cm, broadly oval with a lopsided base and a wavy, toothed margin; glorious yellow to orange-red autumn colour. |
| Flowering | Yellow, hanging male catkins as early as January–February; tiny red stigmas of the female flowers (January–March). | Flowers with four ribbon-like, crinkled petals, yellow, orange or red, from December to March on bare branches; fragrant (January–February). |
| Fruit | Hazelnuts in a leafy, ragged husk (September). | Woody capsules that shoot their seeds a few metres away. |
| Bark | Glossy grey-brown with pale lenticels. | Greyish-brown and smooth; twigs with hairy buds. |
| Shape and height | Shrub, 3–8 m, multi-stemmed shrub | Shrub, 3–5 m |
| Site | Sun to shade, any garden soil, normal | Sun or partial shade, acid soil, normal |
| Native to Belgium | Yes | No, planted |
| Good for bees, butterflies and birds | Yes, for bees, butterflies and birds | Little |
| Poisonous to people and pets | Not known to be poisonous | Not known to be poisonous |
| Pruning months | November–March | March–April |
What does it mean for your garden?
- Hazel is native: it feeds more insects and birds than a non-native species. If in doubt, choose this one.
Read on
- Plant profile: Hazel
- Plant profile: Witch hazel
- Hazel: when and how to prune
- Witch hazel: when and how to prune
- Identification key: the question that separates them
Also looks like
- Hazel or alder
- Turkish hazel or hazel
- Hazel or hop-hornbeam
- Hazel or elm
- Hazel or filbert
- Hazel or wych elm
- Hazel or winter hazel
- Hazel or large-leaved lime
Identify by feature
This comparison is compiled from the Bladwijzer species pages.