Native Americans produced witch hazel extract by boiling the stems of the shrub and producing a decoction, which was used to treat swellings, inflammations, and tumors.[5] Early Puritan settlers in New England adopted this remedy from the natives, and its use became widely established in the United States.[6]
An extract of the plant is used in the astringent witch hazel.
H. virginiana produces a specific kind of tannins called hamamelitannins. One of those substances displays a specific cytotoxic activity against colon cancer cells.[7]
The bark and leaves were used by Native Americans in the treatment of external inflammations. Pond's Extract was a popular distillation of the bark in dilute alcohol.
The wood is light reddish brown, sapwood nearly white; heavy, hard, close-grained, with a density of 0.68.[4]
The forked twigs of witch-hazel are preferred as divining rods.