Buxus
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(November 2011) |
| 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 | |
Buxusis agenusof about seventy species in the familyBuxaceae.Common names includeboxandboxwood.[1][2][3]
The boxes arenativeto 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 diversityoccur in Cuba (about 30 species), China (17 species) and Madagascar (9 species).
They are slow-growingevergreenshrubsand smalltrees,growing to 2–12 m (rarely 15 m) tall. Theleavesare 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,monoeciouswith both sexes present on a plant. Thefruitis 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]
Selected species
[edit]Europe, northwest Africa, Asia
[edit]- Buxus austro-yunnanensis(Yunnan box; southwest China)
- Buxus balearica(Balearic box;Balearic Islands,southern Spain, northwest Africa)
- Buxus bodinieri(China)
- Buxus cephalantha(China)
- Buxus cochinchinensis(Malaysia,Vietnam)
- Buxus colchica(Georgian box; western Caucasus; considered also asyn.ofB. sempervirens)
- Buxus hainanensis(Hainan box; China: Hainan)
- Buxus harlandii(Harland's box; southern China, Vietnam)
- Buxus hebecarpa(China)
- Buxus henryi(Henry's box; China)
- Buxus hyrcana(Caspian box; Alborz, eastern Caucasus; considered also asyn.ofB. sempervirens)
- Buxus ichangensis(China)
- Buxus latistyla(China)
- Buxus linearifolia(China)
- Buxus megistophylla(China)
- Buxus microphylla(Japanese box; Korea, China, Vietnam; long cultivated inJapan)
- Buxus mollicula(China)
- Buxus myrica(China, Vietnam)
- Buxus papillosa(western Himalaya)
- Buxus pubiramea(China)
- Buxus rivularis(Philippines)
- Buxus rolfei(Borneo)
- Buxus rugulosa(China, eastern Himalaya)
- Buxus rupicola(Malaysia)
- Buxus sempervirens(common box or European box; western and southern Europe, except far southwest)
- Buxus sinica(Chinese box; China, Korea, Japan)
- Buxus stenophylla(China)
- Buxus wallichiana(Himalayan box; Himalaya)
Africa, Madagascar
[edit]- Buxus acuminata(Africa: Zaire; syn.Notobuxus acuminata)
- Buxus calcarea(Madagascar endemic)
- Buxus capuronii(Madagascar endemic)
- Buxus hildebrandtii(eastern Africa: Somalia, Ethiopia)
- Buxus humbertii(Humbert's box; Madagascar endemic)
- Buxus itremoensis(Madagascar endemic)
- Buxus lisowskii(Congo)
- Buxus macowanii(Cape box; eastern and northern South Africa)
- Buxus macrocarpa(Madagascar endemic)
- Buxus madagascarica(Madagascan box; Madagascar, Comoros)
- Buxus monticola(Madagascar endemic)
- Buxus moratii(Madagascar, Comoros)
- Buxus natalensis(Natal box; eastern South Africa; syn.Notobuxus natalensis)
- Buxus nyasica(Malawi)
- Buxus obtusifolia(eastern Africa; syn.Notobuxus obtusifolia)
- Buxus rabenantoandroi(Madagascar endemic; syn.B. angustifoliaGE Schatz & LowrynonMill.)
Americas
[edit]- Buxus aneura(Cuba)
- Buxus arborea(Jamaica)
- Buxus bartletii(Central America)
- Buxus brevipes(Cuba)
- Buxus citrifolia(Venezuela)
- Buxus crassifolia(Cuba)
- Buxus ekmanii(Cuba)
- Buxus excisa(Cuba)
- Buxus heterophylla(Cuba)
- Buxus imbricata(Cuba)
- Buxus lancifolia(Mexico)
- Buxus macrophylla(Central America)
- Buxus mexicana(Mexico)
- Buxus muelleriana(Cuba)
- Buxus olivacea(Cuba)
- Buxus pilosula(Cuba)
- Buxus portoricensis(Puerto Rico)
- Buxus pubescens(Mexico)
- Buxus rheedioides(Cuba)
- Buxus vahlii(Vahl's box or smooth box; Puerto Rico; syn.B. laevigata)
Selected cultivars
[edit]Uses
[edit]Cultivation
[edit]Box plants are commonly grown ashedgesand fortopiary.
In Britain and mainland Europe, box is subject to damage fromcaterpillarsof Cydalima perspectaliswhich 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.[5]
Wood carving
[edit]
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 fordecorativeorstorageboxes.
Traditional Japanese boxwood combs are calledTsuge Gushiand have been in production since theHeian Period.[6]
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.[7]
The extremely fineendgrainof box makes it suitable forwoodblock printingandwoodcutblocks, 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 Ontarioin Toronto.[8]
High quality wooden spoons have usually been carved from box, withbeechbeing the usual cheaper substitute.
Musical instruments
[edit]
Due to its high density, resistance to chipping, and relatively low cost, boxwood has been used to make parts for variousstringed instrumentssince antiquity.[9]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 arerosewoodand ebony.
Boxwood was a common material for the manufacture ofrecordersin 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 bagpipesbefore tastes turned to imported dense tropical woods such ascocuswood,ebony,andAfrican blackwood.[10]
Historical
[edit]
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 measurementscalesandtechnical drawingrulers. 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.[11]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 rulegenerally refers to a style of folding ruler with brass hinge(s).[12]
General Thomas F. Meagherdecorated the hats of the men of theIrish Brigadewith boxwood during theAmerican Civil War,as he could find noshamrock.[13]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"Oxford English Dictionary".OED.Oxford University Press.Retrieved18 May2020.
box1. A genus ( Buxus) of... shrubs...; speciallyB. sempervirens.boxwood,n. 1. The wood of the box-tree; 2. The tree or shrub itself.
- ^The Random House dictionary of the English language.New York City: Random House. 1966. pp. 249–250.ISBN9780394471761.
box1.…of the genusBuxus,esp.B. sempervirens…boxwood1. the…wood of the box… 2. the…shrub itself.
- ^Webster's New International Dictionary, Second Edition.Springfield Massachusetts: G. & C. Merrium Company. 2 July 1934. pp. 320–321.
box1.…of the genusBuxus,esp.B. sempervirens…boxwood1. the…wood of the box… 2. the…shrub itself.
- ^von Balthazar, M.; Endress, P. K.; Qiu, Y.-L. (2000). "Phylogenetic relationships in Buxaceae based on nuclear internal transcribed spacers and plastidndhFsequences ".International Journal of Plant Sciences.161(5): 785–792.doi:10.1086/314302.S2CID84897706.
- ^Invasive caterpillar 'could spread in UK'
- ^"Kyoto Artisans Concierge".www.kyotoartisans.jp.Retrieved2024-07-28.
- ^"Chess Piece Materials".The Chess ZoneDiaphania perspectalis.
- ^"Inner Space: In Small Wonders, the AGO's strangest possessions take centre stage".Toronto Star,November 13, 2016. Page E1. Murray White.
- ^See Theocritus Idyll 24.110, where Heracles is taught to play a boxwood lyre.
- ^Joshua Dickson (9 October 2009).The Highland bagpipe: music, history, tradition.Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. pp. 50–.ISBN978-0-7546-6669-1.Retrieved29 April2011.
- ^Stanley, William Ford (1878).A Descriptive Treatise on Mathematical Drawing Instruments(PDF)(5 ed.). New York: E. & F. N. Spon. pp. 197–199.
- ^"How It Was Made - Boxwood Rules"(PDF).Hawley Tool Collection.Kelham Island Museum.Retrieved29 December2021.
- ^"Illustrations of the Irish Brigade at Fredericksburg".Irish in the American Civil War.Damian Shiels. November 27, 2011.RetrievedJanuary 12,2017.
External links
[edit]
- Box / Royal Horticultural Society(Archived2013-03-22 at theWayback Machine)
- American Boxwood Society
- Revision of the genus Buxus in Madagascar(PDF file)
