Boxwood

Scientific Names

Buxus sempervirens L.
Buxaceae
Box family

Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Boxwood is a small, broadleafed, evergreen tree or shrub; may grow 3 to 4 feet high, it is heavily branched, with angular or winged, slightly hairy twigs. The leaves, 1-1 1/2 inches long, are opposite, leathery, simple, oval to oblong-lanceolate, dark green above and pale beneath. The pale yellow flowers grow in axillary clusters, and the fruit is a globular capsule containing 6 glossy black seeds. Full sun, partial shade in warm climates. Zones 4-8.

Other varieties: dwarf variety (B. suffruticosa); B. microphylla var. koreana, Green Gem, Kingsville Dwarf, Winter Beauty.
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Where Found

Found along the Atlantic coast, especially as an ornamental and hedge plant, in dry hills and sandy soil in Europe. Native to southern Europe and Asia. Not strictly an herb, grown mostly for hedges.
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Medicinal Properties

Diaphoretic, purgative
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Uses

Said to be an excellent purgative
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Warning

Animals have died from eating the leaves.
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Bibliography

Herbal Gardening, compiled by The Robison York State Herb Garden, Cornell Plantations, Matthaei Botanical Gardens of the University of Michigan, University of California Botanical Garden, Berkeley., Pantheon Books, Knopf Publishing Group, New York, 1994, first edition

Webster's New World Dictionary, Third College Edition, Victoria Neufeldt, Editor in Chief, New World Dictionaries: A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023, 1984