Move over, pumpkin. There’s also another plant that some folks say belongs to Halloween — the witch hazel. …It starts blooming around Halloween and continues to do so through December. At the time when most autumn leaves have fallen and the forest is going into winter dormancy, the witch hazel puts forth its fragrant, scraggly, ribbon-like yellow blossoms — the last wild blooms of the year. Some people — the so-called “dowsers” — say witch-hazel is the best wood for their “magic wands,” or divining rods, which supposedly can detect underground water sources. …Old-timers also believed that the witch hazel contained magical potions, in part because of its astringency properties.