Buxaceae

Plant Characteristics

Cultivation

Scientific Names

Read about Buxaceae in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Buxaceae (from the genus Buxus, the ancient name of the box). Buxus Family. Herbs, shrubs or trees: leaves opposite or alternate: flowers monoecious, inconspicuous; hypogynous disk wanting; corolla absent: calyx 4-parted, or in the pistillate flower 4-1^2-partea or 0, imbricated; stamens 4, opposite the lobes of the calyx, or numerous; ovary superior, 3-celled, rarely 2-4- celled; ovules 2, collateral, rarely 1, suspended, micropyle turned toward the axis; styles 2-3: fruit capsular and opening elastically, or fleshy; seeds with endosperm, with or without a caruncle. About 6 genera and 30 species inhabit the tropics and subtropics. One species is native in the southeastern United States. The largest genus is Buxus with 19 species. Fossil species are known. The family is related to the Euphorbiaceae, with which it is united by some authors, and to the Celastraceae and Empetraceae. The absence of milky juice, the calycoid perianth, the 3-celled ovary with collateral suspended albuminous seeds, and the axially directed micropyle are together characteristic. The wood of the box (Buxus sempervirens) of Europe is close-grained and homogeneous; used for engraving and for the manufacture of musical instruments. A decoction of the wood was formerly used in medicine for fevers. Its leaves and seeds are purgative. Oil from the seeds of Simmondsia is used as a hair-tonic. Four or more genera are in cultivation in America. These are: Buxus (Box) ornamental; Pachysandra (Mountain Spurge), garden, ornamental; Sarcococca, greenhouse, ornamental; and Simmondsia, California, for oil. CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

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References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

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