Fothergilla Murray in Linnaeus. Witch-alder.
A genus of 4 species, shrubs (to shrubby, small trees), of temperate e. North America. Diploid taxa have only recently been generally recognized as distinct from F. gardenii (Haynes et al. 2020).
ID notes: Fothergilla major often occurs with Hamamelis virginiana, with which it is easily confused in vegetative condition; a reliable character is the base of the lowermost lateral veins (marginal in Fothergilla, included in leaf tissue in Hamamelis). Most of the cultivated material of Fothergilla, including the best known cultivar ‘Mount Airy,’ are Fothergilla ×intermedia Ranney & Fantz, a pentaploid hybrid of tetraploid F. gardenii and hexaploid F. major (Ranney et al. 2007; Darke 2008).
Ref: Darke (2008); Endress In Kubitzki, Rohwer, & Bittrich (1993); Haynes et al. (2020); Meyer (1997b) In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (1997); Qi et al. (2015); Ranney et al. (2007); Weaver (1969). Show full citations.
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