Buxus sempervirens

Plant Characteristics

Habit		shrub
Lifespan:	⌛	perennial

Cultivation

Features:	✓	evergreen
Flower features:	❀	yellow, green

Scientific Names

Buxus >

sempervirens >

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Read about Buxus sempervirens in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Buxus sempervirens, Linn. Common Box Tree. Fig. 699. Shrub or small tree, to 25 ft.: branches quadrangular: Lvs. oval-oblong or oval, rarely roundish oval or lanceolate, usually obtuse, ½-l½ in. long, petioles usually pubescent: fls. in axillary clusters; staminate fls. sessile, with a central gland half as long as the calyx. S. Eu., N. Afr., Orient, China. H.W. 3, p. 29. F.E. 18 pi. 81. Gn. 55 p. 62.—Wood much used for engraving. Lvs. employed in medicine. Very variable in size, color and shape of the Lvs.; some of the most commonly cult, forms are the following: Var. arborescens, Linn. Fig. 700. Tall shrub or small tree: Lvs. usually oval. The typical form. Var. argentea, Loud. (Var. argenteo-margin- ata, Hort.). Lvs. irregularly edged with silvery white. Var. aurea, Loud, (var. aurea macúlala, Baill.). Lvs. variegated with yellow or entirely yellow. Var. marginala, Loud. (var. aurea marginala, Baill. and Hort.) Lvs. edged yellow. Var. glauca, Koch (var. macrophylla glauca, Hort.). Lvs. oval, glaucous. Var. rotundlfolia, Baill. (var. latlfolia, Hort. Lvs. broadly oval. Var. Handworthii, Koch. Of upright habit, with rather large dark green Lvs. Var. oleaefolia, Hort. Of upright habit, with oblong Lvs., resembling those of the olive. Var. elegans, Hort. (var. olezfolia elegans, Hort.). A variegated form of the preceding variety. Var. búllate, Koch. With large búllate Lvs. Var. angus- tlfôlia, Loud. (var. longlfolia, Hort., var. saliclfalia, Hort.). Shrubby: Lvs. oblong-lanceolate. Var. myrtlfd- lia, Loud. Usually low: Lvs. small, elliptic-oblong. Var. rosmarinlfdlia, Baill. Low: Lvs. small, linear-oblong, revolute at the margin. Var. suffruticdsa, Linn. (var. iti'iiiu, Hort.). Dwarf: Lvs. small, oval or sometimes obovate; flowering clusters usually only terminal. 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 It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article.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.

The most widely use Boxwood in formal horticulture, Buxus sempervirens is a bushy evergreen tree with a trunk that is often covered in smaller side-shoots, topped by a shaggy mane of branches, reaching up to 8 metres in the wild. Its native range is all around the Mediterranean and it has been naturalised in Britain and other countries for some time, partly due to its extensive use in gardens. Its oval leaves are in opposite pairs, each leaf being up to 3cm long and ranging in colour from deep green to quite yellowy - generally speaking, shade brings out the green colour, while full sun can scorch the leaves slightly, turning them more yellow. Buxus sempervirens is monoecious and its flowers are hermaphroditic: although they are pollinated by insects, they are very hard to see amongst the foliage, being small, yellowy-green and lacking petals.

Buxus sempervirens can be found growing on any well drained soil and is famous for growing well in the shade.

Cultivation

Propagation

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Pests and diseases

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Cultivars

• 'Suffruticosa' - much slower growing, dwarf variety.

References

• Cassell's Trees of Britain & Northern Europe. ISBN 0304361925

External links

• w:Buxus sempervirens. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Buxus sempervirens QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)

Box Hedging