Fothergilla

Fothergilla species are in bloom right now, and my guess is that the ones below, blooming in Teardrop Park, are Fothergilla x gardenii, as that's the smaller, dwarf species.


Any type of Fothergilla is pretty cool though, due to the unusual flowers. The white spikes are the stamens and there are no petals on the flowers whatsoever.



Fothergilla is native to the southeast United States, is relatively deer resistant and has very few diseases. I have also seen it in Union Square and Tompkins Square Parks, so that demonstrates the plant's fortitude.


It is in the Hamamelidaceae family, and is thus cousins with witch hazel. It would be easy to guess this as the leaves on Fothergilla have that same distinctive spatula-shape, only smaller.

Buttercup Winterhazel

First off, what a fantastic name Corylopsis pauciflora has: buttercup winterhazel. The flowers do look a little bit like buttercups, and have a great creamy yellow color (an unusual contrast to the brighter, more sulphuric yellows you see this time of year). It blooms so early in the spring, it makes sense to have the name winterhazel, too.

Of course, it's hard to make out the specimen of Corylopsis from the plastic flowers that are placed with it. Like garden statuary, I lean against using fake flowers in a garden, but appreciate the better intentions of the gardener.


Corylopsis is a member of the Hamamelidaceae, or witch hazel, family. Like witch hazel, it has a great, irregular, spatula-like leaf. It blooms early in the spring and in the right conditions (not these) it has a loose, sprawling suckering habit. A great specimen of this plant can be found just southwest of the restrooms at the Conservatory Gardens in Central Park.

Corylopsis is derivative of the Greek work for hazel (korylos) and -opsis generally means 'looks like.' If you hear -opsis or -oides in a botanical name, it usually means 'looks like.' Pauciflora literally means 'few flowers.'

Corylopsis glabrescens

Here's another new plant (for me): Corylopsis glabrescens or fragrant winterhazel. I noticed this plant's not too far from the Callicarpa japonica I posted about last December.



This is the second Corylopsis species I have posted on this site; last March I put some pretty sub-par photos of Corylopsis pauciflora that was growing in the East Village. Like that species, one of the characteristics of Corylopsis that I like so much is the creamy whitish-green blossoms. Corylopsis is in the Witch Hazel or Hamamelidaceae family, though C. glabrescens is, without a doubt, the most fragrant.



This plant is native to Asia though has not be documented as invasive. It's quite tough and I'm very partial to the fuller flowers of this species (unlike the strappy flowers of witch hazel or the bell-shaped flowers of C. pauciflora).