CHAP. XCIX. 



nu'xus. 



1333 



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

 to the lit-nseiipss of the foliage. The Greeks called the boxes made of this wood, which were highly 

 I'stci-ined for their durability, pyxides; and hence, probably, arose the word pyx, which is used tor 

 the chest containing the Host in the Koinan Catholic church. 



Description, $c. 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. B. SEMPERVI^RENS L. The evergreen, or common, Box Tree. 



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

 Si/noiiyiHcs. 7?uxus Rait Syn., 445., Go: Emac., 1410. f., and other authors ; Buis coinmun, Bois 



beni, Ft: ; Buchsbaum, Ger. ; Busso, Bossolo, Mortel, Ital. 

 Engraving. Eng. Bot, t. 1341. 



Spec. Char., $c. Disk of leaf ovate, convex ; footstalk slightly downy at the 

 edges. Anthers ovate-arrow-shaped. (Smith's Eng. Fl. t 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. s. 1 arborescens Mill. Diet., No. 1. ; Buis arborescent, Fr. ; hoch- 

 staninge Buchsbaum, Ger. Arborescent. Leaves ovate. (Willd. 

 Sp. PL) This is the most common form of the species. 



j B. s. a. argentea Hort. Arborescent. Leaves ovate, varie- 

 gated with a silvery colour. 

 1 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. 



f B. s. 2 fii/gustifolia Mill. Diet., No. 2. Arborescent. Leaves lan- 

 ceolate, (wm. s p . PI.) 



t B. s.a.varicgdta Hort. Arborescent, 

 variegated. 



- B. s. 3 snffruticosa Mill. Diet., No. 3. ; B. humilis 

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

 p. 83. ; and our Jig. 1215. ; Buis nain, Buis a 

 Bordures, Buis d'Artois, Buis de Hollande, 

 petit Buis, Fr. ; zwerch Buchsbaum, Ger. 

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

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

 vated for edging beds in gardens. 



* B. s. 4- myrtifolia Lam. Encyc. Dwarf. Leaves 

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

 505.; mild. Sp. PI.) 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, 

 niiK-h 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 fu 



Leaves lanceolate, 



1215 



K. 



exposed to the light f but of a fine deep glossy green when shaded by other 

 trees. The flowers are of a greenish yellow, and are disposed in little ttifts 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 /Wr .A n > K> 



