Leaf
Salicyna, Wikimedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Buttercup winter hazel
Corylopsis pauciflora Siebold & Zucc.
Also known as: Winter hazel
Family: Hamamelidaceae
1 to 1.5 m tall
Sheltered ericaceous beds, acid and cool soil, in a position protected from cold winds
Flowering: February – April, before the leaves
Part shade
Hardy to about -15°C
❓ How do you recognise this plant?
Its flowering can begin at the end of winter, making it one of the very first ericaceous-bed shrubs to announce the return of spring.
🍃 Leaves
Deciduous, rounded, toothed, reddish at bud break then bright green
🌸 Flowers
Pale yellow, scented, in small pendent racemes along the bare twigs
🍎 Fruits
Small woody capsules, hardly visible
🪵 Bark
Light brown, spreading branching in a dense clump
🗺️ Distribution
Native to Japan and Taiwan; introduced to Europe as an ericaceous-bed shrub for its early flowering
🐝 Value for pollinators
Flowers among the first of the season, useful to foraging insects emerging early from winter
✂️ Horticultural uses
Planted for its very early, scented flowering, even before the foliage emerges
🌿 Other Hamamelidaceae to discover
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.
🌱 This database is constantly evolving — species and information are added and corrected regularly. Spotted a mistake? Report it below.
© Floraneo — profile content is protected; reproduction without permission is prohibited. Photos remain under their own licence (see the credit shown on each photo).