Blooming now on campus is Hamamelis virginiana, Common Witchhazel, an eastern United States native shrub to small multi-stemmed tree whose yellow, fragrant blossoms with strap-like petals provide a pleasant autumn surprise as it blooms in late October through November. The lightly fragrant blooms enrich the landscape even as the leaves of Witchhazel turn a similar and often spectacular lemon yellow. The plant is naturally found in moist, shady locations in our eastern woodlands and particularly on the banks of streams. In the landscape, this plant is somewhat adaptable but prefers a moist, acidic, organic soil and will tend to scorch during hot summers without afternoon shade. Otherwise, witchhazel is little trouble by insects or disease, and the extract witchhazel is distilled from the bark of young stems and roots. Another native Witchhazel, Hamamelis vernalis or Vernal Witchhazel blooms in the late winter to early spring and other species and hybrids of Chinese Witchhazel, Hamamelis mollis, and Japanese Witchhazel, Hamamelis japonica, are popular and beautiful early harbingers of spring in a range of blossom colors from yellow to orange to red. Many of these hybrids also exhibit rich autumn coloration of the leaves.