Hamamelidaceae
family of plants
Hamamelidaceae, commonly referred to as the witch-hazel family, is a family of flowering plants in the order Saxifragales. The clade consists of shrubs and small trees positioned within the woody clade of the core Saxifragales. An earlier system, the Cronquist system, recognized Hamamelidaceae in the Hamamelidales order.
Description
The Hamamelidaceae are distinguishable from other families in the Saxifragales due to the range of floral characteristics that are generally uniform through all genera. Uniform characteristics include stipules borne on stems with leaves often 2-ranked. Genera usually have a two carpel gynoecium, although some species show variation. Other characteristics include a multicellular stigma, with shallow papillae or ridges.
Anthers
Anther structure and the modes of opening are considered to be one of the most important features in the systematics and evolution of Hamamelids. The anthers in Hamamelids are on average shorter than in other families in the Saxifragales. The anther valve openings are unique pleismorphic features that contrast with the simple longitudinal slits of the anthers in the upper Hamamelidae where the pollen is predominantly wind-driven.
“Hamamelidaceae” enters the record as family of plants. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Hamamelidaceae, family and plants can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q148479. The Library of Congress control number is sh85058532. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Hamamelidaceae” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.