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''Buxus'' is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood.
The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South America, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean, with the majority of species being tropical or subtropical; only the European and some Asian species are
Owing to its fine grain it is a good wood for fine wood carving, although this is limited by the small sizes available. It is also resistant to splitting and chipping, and thus useful for decorative boxes, decorative or box#Storage boxes, storage boxes. Formerly, it was used for wooden combs. As a timber or wood for carving it is "boxwood" in all varieties of English.
Owing to the relatively high density of the wood, boxwood is often used for chess pieces; unstained boxwood for the white pieces, and stained ('ebonized') boxwood for the black pieces in lieu of ebony.
The extremely fine endgrain of box makes it suitable for woodblock printing and woodcut blocks, for which it was the usual material in Europe. In the 16th century, boxwood was used to create intricate decorative carvings, including intricate Gothic boxwood miniature, rosary prayer beads. As of 2016, the largest collection of these carvings is at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto.
High quality wooden spoons have usually been carved from box, with beech being the usual cheaper substitute.
Prior to the development of Plastic, plastics, boxwood was important to a wide range of fields from engineering to arts, construction to cartography, due to its density and stability making it one of the best available materials for measurement scale ruler, scales and technical drawing rulers. Alternative materials of the era were ivory, paper, and metal. Disadvantages of ivory included that it would slightly shrink over time, the size and shape of blanks was limited by that of the tusk, and supply was limited. Paper was soft, difficult to use, and did not last long. Metal marked the surface it was being used on and increased expense. Ebony was another dense and stable wood prized for drawing instruments but typically only if scales were not necessary; boxwood's light color contrasted much better with scales.
Devices made of boxwood included Set square, set squares, scale rulers, Meterstick, yardsticks, folding rulers, Slide rule, slide rules, Marquois scales, T-squares, Protractor, protractors, and a wide range of other measuring, metering, and straight-edge devices and tools, as well as general functional items such as comb, combs, weaving Shuttle (weaving), shuttles, etc.
A ''boxwood rule'' generally refers to a style of folding ruler with brass hinge(s).
Thomas Francis Meagher, General Thomas F. Meagher decorated the hats of the men of the Irish Brigade (U.S.), Irish Brigade with boxwood during the American Civil War, as he could find no shamrock.
Box / Royal Horticultural Society
American Boxwood Society
Revision of the genus Buxus in Madagascar
(pdf file) {{Authority control Buxus, Eudicot genera Plants used in bonsai Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
''Buxus'' is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood.
The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South America, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean, with the majority of species being tropical or subtropical; only the European and some Asian species are frost
Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above-freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a gas) ...
-tolerant. Centres of diversity
A center of origin is a geographical area where a group of organisms, either domesticated or wild, first developed its distinctive properties. They are also considered centers of diversity. Centers of origin were first identified in 1924 by Ni ...
occur in Cuba (about 30 species), China (17 species) and Madagascar (9 species).
They are slow-growing evergreen shrub
A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...
s and small trees, growing to 2–12 m (rarely 15 m) tall. The leaves
A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
are opposite, rounded to lanceolate, and leathery; they are small in most species, typically 1.5–5 cm long and 0.3–2.5 cm broad, but up to 11 cm long and 5 cm broad in ''B. macrocarpa''. The flowers are small and yellow-green, monoecious
Monoecy (; adj. monoecious ) is a sexual system in seed plants where separate male and female cones or flowers are present on the same plant. It is a monomorphic sexual system alongside gynomonoecy, andromonoecy and trimonoecy.
Monoecy is conne ...
with both sexes present on a plant. The fruit is a small capsule 0.5–1.5 cm long (to 3 cm in ''B. macrocarpa''), containing several small seeds.
The genus splits into three genetically distinct sections, each section in a different region, with the Eurasian species in one section, the African (except northwest Africa) and Madagascan species in the second, and the American species in the third. The African and American sections are genetically closer to each other than to the Eurasian section.
Selected species
Europe, northwest Africa, Asia
*''Buxus austro-yunnanensis
''Buxus'' is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood.
The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South ...
'' (Yunnan box; southwest China)
*''Buxus balearica
''Buxus balearica'', the Balearic boxwood, is a shrub or small evergreen tree typical of the Mediterranean forest.
It grows wild in Algeria, Morocco, the Island of Sardinia and Spain.
Description
The Balearic boxwood is a monoecious tree or ...
'' (Balearic box; Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...
, southern Spain, northwest Africa)
*''Buxus bodinieri
''Buxus'' is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood.
The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South ...
'' (China)
*''Buxus cephalantha
''Buxus'' is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood.
The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South ...
'' (China)
*''Buxus cochinchinensis
''Buxus'' is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood.
The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South ...
'' ( Malaysia, Vietnam)
*'' Buxus colchica'' (Georgian box; western Caucasus; considered also a syn.
The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently.
* In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnae ...
of ''B. sempervirens'')
*''Buxus hainanensis
''Buxus'' is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood.
The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South ...
'' (Hainan box; China: Hainan)
*''Buxus harlandii
''Buxus harlandii'', the Harland boxwood, is a species of flowering plant in the family Buxaceae. It is native to coastal southeast China, from Hong Kong and other Guangdong islands down to Hainan, and to Vietnam. Care must be taken when purchasi ...
'' (Harland's box; southern China, Vietnam)
*''Buxus hebecarpa
''Buxus'' is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood.
The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South ...
'' (China)
*''Buxus henryi
''Buxus'' is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood.
The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South ...
'' (Henry's box; China)
*''Buxus hyrcana
''Buxus sempervirens'', the common box, European box, or boxwood, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Buxus'', native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa, and southwest Asia, from southern England south to northern Morocco ...
'' (Caspian box; Alborz, eastern Caucasus; considered also a syn.
The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently.
* In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnae ...
of ''B. sempervirens'')
*'' Buxus ichangensis'' (China)
*'' Buxus latistyla'' (China)
*''Buxus linearifolia
''Buxus'' is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood.
The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South ...
'' (China)
*'' Buxus megistophylla'' (China)
*''Buxus microphylla
''Buxus microphylla'', the Japanese box or littleleaf box, is a species of flowering plant in the box family
found in Japan and Taiwan. It is a dwarf evergreen shrub or small tree growing to tall and wide.
Description
In the case of ''Buxus mi ...
'' (Japanese box; Korea, China, Vietnam; long cultivated in Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
)
*'' Buxus mollicula'' (China)
*''Buxus myrica
''Buxus'' is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood.
The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South ...
'' (China, Vietnam)
*'' Buxus papillosa'' (western Himalaya)
*'' Buxus pubiramea'' (China)
*'' Buxus rivularis'' ( Philippines)
*''Buxus rolfei
''Buxus'' is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood.
The boxes are native plant, native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, north ...
'' (Borneo)
*''Buxus rugulosa
''Buxus'' is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood.
The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South ...
'' (China, eastern Himalaya)
*''Buxus rupicola
''Buxus'' is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood.
The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South ...
'' (Malaysia)
*'' Buxus sempervirens'' (common box or European box; western and southern Europe, except far southwest)
*''Buxus sinica
''Buxus sinica'', the Chinese box or small-leaved box, is a species of flowering plant in the family Buxaceae, native to central and southern China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. A shrub or small tree, in the wild it is found in a variety of ha ...
'' (Chinese box; China, Korea, Japan)
*'' Buxus stenophylla'' (China)
*''Buxus wallichiana
''Buxus'' is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood.
The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South ...
'' (Himalayan box; Himalaya)
Africa, Madagascar
*''Buxus acuminata
''Buxus'' is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood.
The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South ...
'' (Africa: Zaire; syn. ''Notobuxus acuminata'')
*'' Buxus calcarea'' (Madagascar endemic)
*''Buxus capuronii
''Buxus'' is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood.
The boxes are native plant, native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, north ...
'' (Madagascar endemic)
*''Buxus hildebrandtii'' (eastern Africa: Somalia, Ethiopia)
*''Buxus humbertii'' (Humbert's box; Madagascar endemic)
*''Buxus itremoensis'' (Madagascar endemic)
*''Buxus lisowskii'' (Congo)
*''Buxus macowanii'' (Cape box; eastern and northern South Africa)
*''Buxus macrocarpa'' (Madagascar endemic)
*''Buxus madagascarica'' (Madagascan box; Madagascar, Comoros)
*''Buxus monticola'' (Madagascar endemic)
*''Buxus moratii'' (Madagascar, Comoros)
*''Buxus natalensis'' (Natal box; eastern South Africa; syn. ''Notobuxus natalensis'')
*''Buxus nyasica'' (Malawi)
*''Buxus obtusifolia'' (eastern Africa; syn. ''Notobuxus obtusifolia'')
*''Buxus rabenantoandroi'' (Madagascar endemic; syn. ''B. angustifolia'' GE Schatz & Lowry ''non'' Mill.)
Americas
*''Buxus aneura'' (Cuba) *''Buxus arborea'' (Jamaica) *''Buxus bartletii'' (Central America) *''Buxus brevipes'' (Cuba) *''Buxus citrifolia'' (Venezuela) *''Buxus crassifolia'' (Cuba) *''Buxus ekmanii'' (Cuba) *''Buxus excisa'' (Cuba) *''Buxus heterophylla'' (Cuba) *''Buxus imbricata'' (Cuba) *''Buxus lancifolia'' (Mexico) *''Buxus macrophylla'' (Central America) *''Buxus mexicana'' (Mexico) *''Buxus muelleriana'' (Cuba) *''Buxus olivacea'' (Cuba) *''Buxus pilosula'' (Cuba) *''Buxus portoricensis'' (Puerto Rico) *''Buxus pubescens'' (Mexico) *''Buxus rheedioides'' (Cuba) *''Buxus vahlii'' (Vahl's box or smooth box; Puerto Rico; syn. ''B. laevigata'')Selected cultivars
*Buxus 'Green Velvet', ''Buxus'' 'Green Velvet' '' *Buxus microphylla var. koreana 'Winter Gem', ''Buxus microphylla'' var. ''koreana'' 'Winter Gem'Uses
Cultivation
Box plants are commonly grown as hedges and for topiary. In Britain and mainland Europe, box is subject to damage from caterpillars of ''Cydalima perspectalis'' which can devastate a box hedge within a short time. This is a recently introduced species first noticed in Europe in 2007 and in the UK in 2008 but spreading. There were 3 UK reports of infestation in 2011, 20 in 2014 and 150 in the first half of 2015.Wood carving
Owing to its fine grain it is a good wood for fine wood carving, although this is limited by the small sizes available. It is also resistant to splitting and chipping, and thus useful for decorative boxes, decorative or box#Storage boxes, storage boxes. Formerly, it was used for wooden combs. As a timber or wood for carving it is "boxwood" in all varieties of English.
Owing to the relatively high density of the wood, boxwood is often used for chess pieces; unstained boxwood for the white pieces, and stained ('ebonized') boxwood for the black pieces in lieu of ebony.
The extremely fine endgrain of box makes it suitable for woodblock printing and woodcut blocks, for which it was the usual material in Europe. In the 16th century, boxwood was used to create intricate decorative carvings, including intricate Gothic boxwood miniature, rosary prayer beads. As of 2016, the largest collection of these carvings is at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto.
High quality wooden spoons have usually been carved from box, with beech being the usual cheaper substitute.
Musical instruments
Due to its high density, resistance to chipping, and relatively low cost, boxwood has been used to make parts for various stringed instruments since antiquity. It is mostly used to make tailpieces, chin rests and tuning pegs, but may be used for a variety of other parts as well. Other woods used for this purpose are rosewood and ebony. Boxwood was a common material for the manufacture of Recorder (musical instrument), recorders in the eighteenth century, and a large number of mid- to high-end instruments made today are produced from one or other species of boxwood. Boxwood was once a popular wood for other woodwind instruments, and was among the traditional woods for Great Highland bagpipes before tastes turned to imported dense tropical woods such as cocuswood, ebony, and African blackwood.Historical
Prior to the development of Plastic, plastics, boxwood was important to a wide range of fields from engineering to arts, construction to cartography, due to its density and stability making it one of the best available materials for measurement scale ruler, scales and technical drawing rulers. Alternative materials of the era were ivory, paper, and metal. Disadvantages of ivory included that it would slightly shrink over time, the size and shape of blanks was limited by that of the tusk, and supply was limited. Paper was soft, difficult to use, and did not last long. Metal marked the surface it was being used on and increased expense. Ebony was another dense and stable wood prized for drawing instruments but typically only if scales were not necessary; boxwood's light color contrasted much better with scales.
Devices made of boxwood included Set square, set squares, scale rulers, Meterstick, yardsticks, folding rulers, Slide rule, slide rules, Marquois scales, T-squares, Protractor, protractors, and a wide range of other measuring, metering, and straight-edge devices and tools, as well as general functional items such as comb, combs, weaving Shuttle (weaving), shuttles, etc.
A ''boxwood rule'' generally refers to a style of folding ruler with brass hinge(s).
Thomas Francis Meagher, General Thomas F. Meagher decorated the hats of the men of the Irish Brigade (U.S.), Irish Brigade with boxwood during the American Civil War, as he could find no shamrock.
See also
* Bibliography of hedges and topiary * Boxwood blight * ''Cydalima perspectalis'' – box tree mothReferences
External links
Box / Royal Horticultural Society
American Boxwood Society
Revision of the genus Buxus in Madagascar
(pdf file) {{Authority control Buxus, Eudicot genera Plants used in bonsai Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus