Herb' N Wisdom And Natural Living Podcast

Witch-Hazel, what the heck is that? Definition of witch-hazel 1: "any of a genus (Hamamelis of the family Hamamelidaceae, the witch-hazel family) of shrubs or small trees with slender-petaled usually yellow flowers borne in late fall or early spring especially: one (H. virginiana) of eastern North America that blooms in the fall 2: an alcoholic solution of a distillate of the bark of a witch hazel (H. virginiana) used as a soothing and mildly astringent lotion." -Merriam-Webster "Native Americans are believed to have been the first to use witch-hazel extensively for medicinal purposes.  The extract was produced by boiling the stems of the shrub and producing a decoction that was used in treating swellings, inflammations, and tumors. In addition to being used as a medication, early European settlers also observed Native Americans using American witch-hazel to find underground sources of water. This activity is probably where the common name witch-hazel came from. Because of the native’s assoc