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| Buxus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Common box,Buxus sempervirens | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Buxales |
| Family: | Buxaceae |
| Genus: | Buxus L. |
| Species | |
About 70 species; see text | |
Buxus is agenus of about seventy species in the familyBuxaceae. Common names includebox andboxwood.[1][2][3]
The boxes arenative 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 arefrost-tolerant.Centres of diversity occur in Cuba (about 30 species), China (17 species) and Madagascar (9 species).
They are slow-growingevergreenshrubs and smalltrees, growing to 2–12 m (rarely 15 m) tall. Theleaves are opposite, rounded tolanceolate, 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 inB. macrocarpa. The flowers are small and yellow-green,monoecious with both sexes present on a plant. Thefruit is a small capsule 0.5–1.5 cm long (to 3 cm inB. macrocarpa), containing several smallseeds.
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.[4]
The genomes ofBuxus austro-yunnanensis andBuxus sinica have been sequenced.[5][6]
Box plants are commonly grown ashedges and fortopiary.
In Britain and mainland Europe, box is subject to damage fromcaterpillars ofCydalima 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.[7]
Owing to its fine grain it is a good wood for finewood carving, although this is limited by the small sizes available. It is also resistant to splitting and chipping, and thus useful fordecorative orstorage boxes.
Traditional Japanese boxwood combs are calledTsuge Gushi and have been in production since theHeian Period.[8]
As a timber or wood for carving it is "boxwood" in all varieties of English.
Owing to the relatively high density of thewood, boxwood is often used forchess pieces; unstained boxwood for the white pieces, and stained ('ebonized') boxwood for the black pieces in lieu ofebony.[9]
The extremely fineendgrain of box makes it suitable forwoodblock printing andwoodcut blocks, for which it was the usual material in Europe. In the 16th century, boxwood was used to create intricate decorative carvings, including intricaterosary prayer beads. As of 2016, the largest collection of these carvings is at theArt Gallery of Ontario in Toronto.[10]
High quality wooden spoons have usually been carved from box, withbeech being the usual cheaper substitute.
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Due to its high density, resistance to chipping, and relatively low cost, boxwood has been used to make parts for variousstringed instruments since antiquity.[11] 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 arerosewood and ebony.
Boxwood was a common material for the manufacture ofrecorders 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 forGreat Highland bagpipes before tastes turned to imported dense tropical woods such ascocuswood,ebony, andAfrican blackwood.[12]
Prior to the development ofplastics, 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 measurementscales andtechnical drawing rulers. Alternative materials of the era wereivory, 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.[13] 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 includedset squares, scale rulers,yardsticks, folding rulers,slide rules,Marquois scales, T-squares,protractors, and a wide range of other measuring, metering, and straight-edge devices and tools, as well as general functional items such ascombs, weavingshuttles, etc.
Aboxwood rule generally refers to a style of folding ruler with brass hinge(s).[14]
General Thomas F. Meagher decorated the hats of the men of theIrish Brigade with boxwood during theAmerican Civil War, as he could find noshamrock.[15]
box 1. A genus ( Buxus) of ... shrubs...; speciallyB. sempervirens.boxwood, n. 1. The wood of the box-tree; 2. The tree or shrub itself.
box 1. …of the genusBuxus, esp.B. sempervirens…boxwood 1. the…wood of the box… 2. the…shrub itself.
box 1. …of the genusBuxus, esp.B. sempervirens…boxwood 1. the…wood of the box… 2. the…shrub itself.
