Plant: spreading small tree to 20'

Origin: eastern North America

Zone: 4 - 8

Flowers: ribbon-like fragrant flowers. Last year's seed capsules ripen as flowers open (hama = together, melis = fruit). This bewitched "hazel" forcefully expels ripe seeds up to 30' away.

Foliage: obovate. Can obscure flowers.

Culture: full sun to shade. Moist, slightly acidic soil. Thin out older, less vigorous branches to promote new growth. Prune carefully. Buds form only in leaf axils of two-year old wood.