''Paxistima myrsinites'' (Oregon boxleaf, Oregon boxwood, mountain lover, box, or hedge, false box, myrtle box leaf; syn.'' Pachistima myrsinites'')
is a species of
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 ...
in the family
Celastraceae
The Celastraceae (staff-vine or bittersweet) are a family of 97 genera and 1,350 species of herbs, vines, shrubs and small trees, belonging to the order Celastrales. The great majority of the genera are tropical, with only ''Celastrus'' (the staf ...
. It is native to western North America from
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
to northern
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
to the
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...
, where it grows in forests, often in the
understory
In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but abov ...
.
Description
''Paxistima myrsinites'' is a low prostrate or spreading evergreen shrub growing to a meter in maximum height. The stems have many four-angled branches lined with oppositely arranged oval leaves roughly 1 to 3 centimeters long. The leaves are thick, leathery, toothed, and pointed or round-tipped. They are light green when new and shiny dark green when mature. Blossoming occurs from June to August.
The
inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...
s occur in the leaf axils, where there appears a single flower or cluster of up to three. The small flat flower has four dark red oval petals about a millimeter long. The fruit is an oblong capsule under a centimeter long containing usually one seed in each of its two valves. The seed is dark and shiny and partly covered in a white
aril
An aril (pronounced ), also called an arillus, is a specialized outgrowth from a seed that partly or completely covers the seed. An arillode or false aril is sometimes distinguished: whereas an aril grows from the attachment point of the see ...
. The shrub reproduces via seed, but it can also be propagated with
cuttings.
Ecology
The wild shrub is a good food source for wild animals such as
elk
The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...
,
moose
The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...
, which browse its evergreen leaves in the winter,
and
grouse
Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes, in the family Phasianidae. Grouse are presently assigned to the tribe Tetraonini (formerly the subfamily Tetraoninae and the family Tetraonidae), a classification supported by mitochondr ...
.
[
]
Uses
''Paxistima myrsinites'' has been utilized by Native American groups for various medicinal and ceremonial uses.Ethnobotany
/ref>
References
External links
Jepson Manual TreatmentBotany Photo of the DayPhoto gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7156489
Celastraceae