The flowers of the all but H. virginiana, are produced on the
leafless stems in winter, thus one alternative name for the plant,
"Winterbloom". Each flower has four slender strap-shaped petals
1-2 cm long, pale to dark yellow, orange, or red. The fruit is a
two-part capsule 1 cm long, containing a single 5 mm glossy black seed
in each of the two parts; the capsule splits explosively at maturity in
the autumn about 8 months after flowering, ejecting the seeds with
sufficient force to fly for distances of up to 10 m, thus another
alternative name "Snapping Hazel".