CHAP. XCIX. EUPHORBFJ^CEJE. 5U'XUS. 1333 



Derivation. From puknos, dense ; in reference to the hardness and closeness of the wood ; or, perhaps, 

 to the lienseness 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 pyx, which is used for 

 the chest containing the Host in the Roman Catholic church. 



Description, Sfc. Low evergreen trees or shrubs, with shining coriaceous 

 leaves, and greenish yellow flowers ; natives of Europe, and the temperate 

 parts of Asia ; of easy culture in any soil that is tolerably dry ; and propagated 

 freely by cuttings, or by seeds. 



1 » 1. J?. sEMPERVi^RENs L. The evergreen, or comynon. Box Tree. 



identification. Lin. Sp. PI., 1394. ; Smith Eng, Flora, 4. p. 133. ; Baxt. Brit. Flow. PI., 2. t. 142. 

 Syiumyvtes. jBi'ixns Raii Syn., 44.'>., Ger. Emac, 1410. f., and other authors; Buis comraun, Bois 



beni, Fr. ; Buchsbaum, Ger. ; Busso, Bossolo, Mortel, Ital. 

 Engraving. Eng. Bot, t. 1341. 



SjJec. Char., Sfc. Disk of leaf ovate, convex ; footstalk slightly downy at the 

 edges. Anthers ovate-arrow-shaped. (Smith's Eng. Ft., 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. 



t B. if. 1 arborcscens Mill. Diet., No. 1. ; Buis arborescent, Fr.; hoch- 

 staninge Buchsbaum, G<?>-. — Arborescent. Leaves ovate. (JVil/d. 

 S]}. PI.) This is the most common form of the species. 



f "B. s. a. ai'genteaVLort. — Arborescent. Leaves ovate, varie- 

 gated with a silvery colour. 

 I B. s. a. aurea Hort. — Arborescent. Leaves ovate, variegated 



with a golden colour, 

 t B. s. a. margindta Hort. — Arborescent. Leaf ovate, with a 

 margin of a golden colour. 

 ? B. *. 2 angiistifolia Mill. Diet., No. 2. — Arborescent. Leaves lan- 

 ceolate. (Willd. Sp. PI.) 



} B. s. a. variegdta Hort. — Arborescent. Leaves lanceolate , 

 variegated. 

 o- B. 5. 3 suffruticosa Mill. Diet., No. 3. ; B. humilis 

 Dud. Pempt,, 782. ; B. s nana N. Du Ham., i. 

 p. 83. ; and our ^g. 1215.; Buis nain, Buis a 

 Bordures, Buis d'Artois, Buis de Hollande, 

 petit Buis, Fr. ; zwerch Buchsbaum, Ger. — 

 Dwarf. Leaves small, obovate. (Lam. Encijc. 

 Willd. Sp. PI.) This is the kind usually culti- 

 vated for edging beds in gardens. 

 » B. s. -t mi/rtifo/ia Lain. Encyc. — Dwarf. Leaves 

 small, oblong, narrowish. (Lam. Encyc, i. p. 

 505.; Willd. Sp. PI.) A pretty little plant; 

 generally quite low, but, under favourable cir- 1215 



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. In a 

 wild state, it seldom exceeds the height of 12ft. or 15ft. 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 6 in. to 8 in. 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 



4 s + 



