CHAP. XCIX. EUPHORBIA‘CEZ. Bvu’XUS. 1333 
Derivation. From puknos, dense ; in reference to the hardness and closeness of the wood ; or, perhaps, 
to the censeness of the foliage. The Greeks called the boxes made of this wood, which were highly 
esteemed for their durability, pyxides; and hence, probably, arose the word pyz, which is used for 
the chest containing the Host in the Roman Catholic church. 
Description, §c. Low evergreen trees or shrubs, with shining coriaceous 
leaves, and greenish yellow flowers; natives of Europe, and the temperate 
og of Asia; of easy culture in any soil that is tolerably dry ; and propagated 
reely by cuttings, or by seeds. 
? « 1. B.sempervi‘reNs L. The evergreen, or common, Box Tree. 
Identification. Lin. Sp. Pl., 1394.; Smith Eng. Flora, 4. p. 133.; Baxt. Brit. Flow. PL, 2. t. 142. 
Synonymes, Bixus Raii Syn., 445., Ger. Emac., 1410. f., and other authors; Buis commun, Bois 
béni, Fr.; Buchsbaum, Ger. ; Busso, Bossolo, Mortel, Ztail. 
Engraving. Eng. Bot., t. 1541. 
Spec. Char., §c. Disk of leaf ovate, convex; footstalk slightly downy at the 
edges. Anthers ovate-arrow-shaped. (Smith’s Eng. F1., iv. p. 133.) A 
low evergreen tree, a native of many parts of Europe, and, according to 
some, including Britain ; growing to the height of from 15 ft. to 30 ft. ; and 
flowering in April and May. 
Varieties and Subvarieties. 
¢ B. s. 1 arboréscens Mill. Dict., No. 1.; Buis arborescent, F’r.; hoch- 
staninge Buchsbaum, Ger. — Arborescent. Leaves ovate. (Willd. 
Sp. Pl.) This is the most common form of the species. 
¢ B.s. a. argéntea Hort.— Arborescent. Leaves ovate, varie- 
gated with a silvery colour. 
¢ B.s. a. atérea Hort.— Arborescent. Leaves ovate, variegated 
with a golden colour. 
¢ B. s. a. margindta Hort.— Arborescent. Leaf ovate, with a 
margin of a golden colour. 
¢ B. s. 2 angustifolia Mill. Dict., No. 2.— Arborescent. Leaves lan- 
ceolate. (Willd. Sp. Pl.) . 
¢ B. s.a. variegata Hort.— Arborescent. Leaves lanceolate, 
variegated. 
* B. s. 3 suffruticdsa Mill. Dict., No. 3. ; B. himilis 
Dod. Pempt., 782.; B.s. nana N. Du Ham., i. 
p- 83.3; and our fig. 1215.; Buis nain, Buis 4 
Bordures, Buis d’Artois, Buis de Hollande, _, 
petit Buis, Fr.; zwerch Buchsbaum, Ger.— @oS 
Dwarf. Leaves small, obovate. (Lam. Encyc. \@p 
Willd. Sp. Pl.) This is the kind usually culti- 
vated for edging beds in gardens. 
# B. s. + myrtifolia Lam. Encyc. —Dwarf. Leaves 
small, oblong, narrowish. (Lam. Encyc., i. p. 
505.; Willd. Sp. Pl.) <A pretty little plant; 
generally quite low, but, under favourable cir- 
cumstances, growing to a considerable size. 
Description, §c. The box is a well-known hardy evergreen tree or shrub, 
much esteemed in Europe, both for ornamental and useful purposes. Ina 
wild state, it seldom exceeds the height of 12 ft. or 15 ft. in Britain; but, in 
Turkey and Asia Minor, trees of it have been found as high as 25 ft. The thick- 
ness of the trunk is very considerable in proportion to its height, and, in full- 
grown trees, varies from 6in. to 8in. in diameter. The bark is yellowish on 
the young wood, but rough and greyish on the trunk of old trees. The leaves 
are opposite, oval, and almost sessile: they are persistent, of a coriaceous 
texture, and a shining yellowish green, when they grow in a situation fully 
exposed to the light; but of a fine deep glossy green when shaded by other 
trees. The flowers are of a greenish yellow, and are disposed in little tufts in 
the axils of the leaves. The tree will bear the knife patiently, and is there- 
fore, and from the closeness of its habit of growth, well adapted for clipped 
hedges, and all kinds of verdant architecture and statuary. ‘ The box,” says 
4s 4 
