278 BUXUS 



as wide (considerably larger in some of the garden forms ; very dark green 

 above, pale below ; shining on both sides ; stalk very short, minutely hairy. 

 Flowers produced in April, pale green with yellow anthers, and of no beauty. 

 Seed-vessel I in. long, with six beaks. 



Native of Europe, N. Africa and W. Asia, and very probably indigenous to 

 Britain, although this is doubted by some authorities. In gardens the box 

 shares with the holly and the yew the distinction of being the most useful (as 

 distinct from the most beautiful) ol hardy evergreens. Some of the more 

 pendulous forms make handsome lawn specimens, and the ordinary type makes 

 an admirable shelter, or a screen for hiding unsightly objects, especially in half- 

 shaded places. Its use for topiary work is well known, also for planting in 

 formal arrangements, where it is kept low and flat by clipping. For the 

 latter purpose the var. suffruticosa, used so extensively for *' box-edging," is 

 also employed. The adaptability of the ordinary form to pruning makes it 

 useful in positions where space is strictly limited, for it can be kept permanently 

 about 6 ft. in height by a judicious removal of prominent shoots, and this 

 without rendering it unduly formal. 



Like the holly and the yew, the box was in earlier times associated with 

 certain festivals and ceremonies. The wood is of a hard, almost bony con- 

 sistence, and before wood-engraving became an almost lost art was a favourite 

 medium for the purpose. Large quantities were formerly imported from 

 S.E. Europe and Persia. Even now, so useful is the wood, the world's 

 supply is not equal to the demand. 



Of numerous named varieties cultivated in gardens, some of which scarcely 

 differ from each other, the following are the most distinct : 



Var. ARGENTEA. Leaves with a white border of varying depth. 



Var. AUREA PENDULA. Golden Weeping Box. Branches pendulous. 

 Leaves margined with, or almost wholly, yellow. 



Var. ELEGANTISSIMA. Habit dwarfer than the type. Leaves narrow, 

 bordered with silver. 



Var. HANDSWORTHII. Habit vigorous, densely bushy, but somewhat erect. 

 Leaves large and broad. 



Var. LATIFOLIA. The broadest-leaved variety ; leaves as much as f in. 

 wide. Habit stiff. 



Var. LONGIFOLIA. Leaves long and proportionately narrow, being i J ins. 

 long, and scarcely -t in. wide. Habit bushy. 



Var. MYOSOTIFOLIA. A curious dwarf, very slow-growing variety, of dense, 

 compact habit. Leaves green, very small, and the largest about | in. long, 

 in. wide. 



Var. MYRTIFOLIA. Myrtle-leaved Box. Habit dwarf. Leaves green, 

 narrow, |- to f in. long, ^ to ^ in. wide. 



Var. PENDULA. A very elegant form with pendent branches, but growing 

 naturally into a small tree. 



Var. PROSTRATA. Low horizontal-branched shrub, rarely more than 2 or 



3 ft. high. 



Var. PYRAMIDALIS. Branches erect, may be used for hedges, but too un- 

 graceful for common use. 



Var. ROSMARINIFOLIA. Rosemary-leaved Box. Leaves long and very 

 narrow, ^ to j in. wide. 



Var. SUFFRUTICOSA (Buxus suffruticosa, Miller). Edging Box. For 

 centuries this variety, distinguished by its dwarf habit and small obovate leaves, 

 has been valued in formal gardening for making neat edgings to flower-beds, 

 walks, etc. It can be kept a few inches high by persistent clipping, but left to 

 itself as one may occasionally see it in old or neglected gardens, it becomes 



4 or 5 ft. high. It can be increased by division or by cuttings. 



