Boxwood

see also: Etymology of Boxwood

The boxwood is a shrub with persistent sheets, with the characteristic odor, of the Buxacée S, which can reach a height from 5 to 6 meters. It produces in spring of the flowers axillaires of small size, without decorative interest, but appreciated by the bees.

It is a plant with growth sometimes very slow, which can live several centuries. Its wood is particularly hard, which was worth to him to be used as material to manufacture tools during prehistory before the control of metal.

Two S are indigenous in Europe. The first, the Buxus balearica , would be still in a wild state in Andalusia. One finds of them some specimens in the islands Balearic Islands and in Sardinia. The other species, better known but badly included/understood since always, the Buxus sempervirens , are of Portugal, while passing by the North of Spain and France, as far as Germany, to England, in Luxembourg and to Switzerland. It had to still belong to the Belgian flora at last century, but never of the original flora of Italy (in spite of the texts of Pline Old the and the other old ones). On the other hand, one finds it in Balkans (old the Yugoslavia, Greece, Kosovo,…) and as far as Bulgaria.

Buxus balearica (also called boxwood of Mahon) is used little in horticulture.

In the gardens, the always green boxwood ( B. sempervirens ) is generally employed in the form of hedges, of figures and cut edges; it is at the base of art Topiaire. The variety Buxus sempervirens suffruticosa is very often used for the clothes industry of the edges although already Claude Mollet, one of the “fathers” of the “garden to the Frenchwoman”, found it not very satisfactory.

Observations on the wild boxwood

The wild boxwood is a particularly tough and robust plant, which can grow spontaneously on important zones, by using one or the other of its modes of reproduction:

the seed, which is of black color
the natural Marcotage: the low branches of a boxwood which crawl on the ground, are frequently enracinent to form a new foot

Places, climates:

It is interesting to observe that the wild boxwood will not completely present the same aspect according to the quality of the ground, the sunning and pluviometry.

In the wet or shaded places, its green sheet will reach more large surface and will be of dark color, whereas its wood can reach several meters in height. The boxwood forms part thus, of the English flora.

In the rather dry and sunny places, the sheet will be clearer, even almost yellow, whereas its development remains more reduced.

In fact, the growth of the boxwood seems favoured by freshness and moisture. However, its spontaneous presence on dry and arid grounds (for example, in the south east of France) does not make it possible to say that it is a plant which does not like heat.

The boxwood is originating in wood and forests and was even often close to the rivers. One could compare it with the houx ( Ilex aquifolium and the yew ( Taxus baccata ), two still current species of the underwoods which it voluntarily joins.

Its Wood dense and hard, of yellow color clearly, with very fine grain is appreciated for the Sculpture and the turning. Is employed it in particular to manufacture wind instruments as well as the parts of plays of failure.

The catholics traditionally use its branches for the festival of the Branches.

There are tens of varieties in the trade.

In Europe, the boxwood would have left many traces in the Toponymie: in France Boissière, Bussières, Buxières, Bouxières, the Alboussière of Latin buxaria , planted place of boxwood; Buxeuil, boxwood clearing; in the United Kingdom Bexhill, Box Hill, boxwood hill… The boxwood being an indigenous plant and the limestone of masonries Gallo-Roman be being favourable with the boxwood, - according to a tough assumption the boxwood would like limestone -, such toponyms are considered by certain revealing of a Gallo-Roman habitat. But that the word “boxwood”, like the word “bush”, would derive from a Germanic word “bosk” (wood, undergrowth) is quite as plausible but then makes the history of many places less noble.

The contact with the sap of the boxwood is likely to cause cutaneous irritations. Its ingestion is toxic and can, with strong amount, to cause vomiting, giddinesses, tremors and paralysis spinale.

List species

According to ITIS:

Buxus laevigata (Sw.) Spreng.
Buxus microphylla Siebold and Zucc.
Buxus portoricensis Alain
Buxus sempervirens L.
Buxus vahlii Baill.

which are added:

Buxus balearica

External bonds

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