LokiLB

I have a witchhazel that was sold as H. virginiana, but it started blooming end of January. One way of distinguishing the witchhazel species is by bloom time, with the native H. virginiana blooming November to December and the Asian species blooming around February. This makes me suspect I got a mislabeled plant. I have received a mislabeled plant from the same nursery before, but that was Helianthus simulans instead of H. angustifolius, which I've seen botanical gardens mix up.

Does anyone know of other ways to differentiate the species? Or where to buy an H. virginiana plant?

I'm looking for an evergreen shrub (max 10 feet tall) to give a bit of privacy at the back of my garden and would prefer something that's edible in some way (e.g., fruit, leaves). I already have tea camellias in another part of the yard and would like something a bit faster growing.

Zone 8 South Carolina with sandy soil.