In North America, there is a plant that resembles the European hazel.  This plant, witch hazel, has a long history of use by Native Americans.  It has similar bushy growth habits and size to the European hazel and many similar uses.  In the US, it is also known as winter bloom or snapping alder.

Witch hazel typically grows as an under story bush of hemlock, beach, or oak forests.  It has beautiful yellow flowers in late fall and produces seed pods that are not used for food.  This is the bush that is used to create witch hazel astringents and the flexible shoots and branches are used for tools.

Like European hazel, witch hazel has been used for protection, luck, and divination.  According to dowsers, witch hazel creates excellent dowsing rods for finding both water and lost or hidden treasures.  Witch hazel's best magic is the magic of hope.  The brilliant sunny blooms shine as the rest of nature is going to sleep.  It serves as a reminder that even during the dark times of winter, life remains.  There is always room for joy and hope.  And, sometimes, when everything seems dark, that is the time to shine.

Wattles and baskets
Fairy tree of Sacred Wells
Tree of Knowledge
Wisdom in a nut's shell

The Celtic tree for August 5 to September 1 is Hazel,  sometimes referred to as coll or the life force within you.  The European hazel is an under story tree found in oak and birch woodlands.  This bushy tree was frequently coppiced to create the wood for weaving wattles and baskets.  It is a fine bush to have around, producing tools, shelter, protection, and food.  The leaves are used to feed livestock and the nuts provide a highly nutritious food for both animals and people.

This sacred tree of the Celts was considered to be highly magical, giving the environment around the tree an energetic charge that was inspiring to those in its presence.  The Irish and Welsh considered it to be a tree of the fairies and the guardian of sacred wells.  The Norse saw hazel as the Tree of Knowledge.  The nuts were believed to be kernels of concentrated wisdom, so much so that the phrase "in a nut's shell"  grew out of this idea.

Hazel has long been used for a number of magical purposes.  Eating the nuts is believed to endow one with wisdom or fertility.  Stringing the nuts into a garland and hanging it around the house is believed to bring good luck to the household. Or you can protect a magical space by drawing a circle around it with a hazel twig.  To make wishes come true, try making the wish while wearing a hazel crown.  The most well known use is for divining water.

Food, fencing, and magic.  What more can you ask of a bush.