boxwood, (family Buxaceae), any of the plants in the family Buxaceae (order Buxales), best known for the ornamental and useful boxwoods. The boxwood familycomprises five genera of trees, shrubs, and herbs and is native toNorth America, Europe,North Africa, and Asia. Flowers are small, unisexual, and without petals, and the majority of species are dioecious (bearing male and female flowers on separate plants). The leathery evergreen leaves are simple and alternately arranged along the stems. Fruits are one- or two-seeded capsules or drupes (stony-pitted fleshy fruits).

Three species of the genusBuxus provide the widely grown boxwood: thecommon, or American, box (B. sempervirens), theJapanese box (B. microphylla), and the Korean box (B. sinica).See alsoboxwood.