Winter Hazel

Shrubs; young branches and buds pubescent or glabrous. Stipules narrowly oblong, ca. 20 mm, sparsely pubescent; petiole 5–10 mm, stellately tomentose; leaf blade obovate, obovate-rounded, broadly ovate or oblong-obovate, 3–9 × 2–6 cm, abaxially gray-brown stellately pubescent to glabrous, adaxially glabrous or pubescent along veins, base asymmetrical, cordate or subtruncate, margin serrate, teeth mucronate, apex obtuse, acute, or acuminate; lateral veins 7–9 on each side, the 2 lowermost with obscure tertiary veins. Inflorescence 3–4 cm, 3–6 cm in fruit; peduncle 1.2–1.5 cm, pubescent; basal bracts of inflorescences ovate-rounded, 0.8–1 cm, abaxially pubescent, adaxially villous; floral bracts ovate, 4–5 mm, pubescent; bracteoles oblong, 2–3 mm. Floral cup stellately pubescent. Sepals ovate, glabrous, apex subobtuse. Petals spatulate, 5–6 × 3–4 mm. Stamens 4–5 mm; disk scales 2-lobed, apex acute, nearly equal to sepals. Ovary stellately pubescent; styles 6–7 mm, base pubescent. Capsules 10–14 × 7–9 mm, stellately pubescent. Seeds 4–5 mm.

Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Zhejiang.

Forests, mountains; 1000--1500 m.

Corylopsis sinensis var. parvifolia H. T. Chang; C. spicata Hemsley.

Corylopsis sinensis, the Chinese winter hazel (simplified Chinese: 蜡瓣花; traditional Chinese: 蠟瓣花; pinyin: là bàn huā), is a species of flowering plant in the witch-hazel family Hamamelidaceae, native to western China. Growing to 4 m (13 ft) tall and broad, it is a substantial deciduous shrub. With ovate leaves, it produces delicately fragrant, drooping racemes of pale yellow flowers with orange anthers in spring.

The Latin specific epithet sinensis means "Chinese" or "of China".

There are four varieties and one form recorded:-

Corylopsis sinensis var. calvescens Corylopsis sinensis var. glandulifera Corylopsis sinensis var. parvifolia Corylopsis sinensis var. sinensis Corylopsis sinensis fo. veitchiana

This plant is cultivated as an ornamental. Though hardy down to −15 °C (5 °F), it prefers a sheltered spot in acidic soil. Both C. sinensis var. calvescens f. veitchiana and C. sinensis var. sinensis are recipients of the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.