EUPHORBIACE^.. 



225 



BUXUS, r.. Flowers moiKecious ; ciilyx of tlie staniiiiate flowers 

 3-sepaled ; corolla 2-petaled ; stamens 1; pistillate flowers with 4 

 sepals, 3 petals, and 3 pistils ; seed-vessels surmounted by 3 beaks, 

 3-celled, 2 seeds in a cell. Shrubs and small trees. Evergreen. 



B. sempervirens, L. (Box. Box-tree.) Stem from 10 to 30 feet iu height, 

 and from .'i to 8 iiuhes in diameter, with deii.sely crowded branches. Leaves 

 oval, about half an incli in length, (Uirk-green, glossy; tiie tiowers in axillary 

 clusters, male and female tiowers on the same plant, greenish and incon- 

 spicuous. April. 



Var. angustifolia, W., is the same as tlie above, except that it has narrow- 

 leaves. 



Var. suffruticosa, W., is a dwarf variety, aud is used for borders iu the 

 garden aud parterre. 



Geography. — The geographical range is not 

 great. It is a native of southern Europe, 

 western Asia, and especially the countries of 

 the Mediterranean Sea, Syria, Persia, and the 

 regions south of the Black Sea. 



Etymology. — Buxus and box are from the 

 Greek 7ru|os, box-tree, aud our word box comes 

 from the same source, because boxes were 

 made of the wood of this tree. Sempervirens, 

 the specific name, is due to its evergreen 

 foliage. Angustifolia is from the Latin angus- 

 ius, narrow, and folium, leaf. Suffruticosa is 

 from the l^atiu, fruticosa, bushy. 



History. — The box was known to and used 

 by the ancients. The wood was used by them 

 to make combs and musical wind-instruments, 

 and the Romans used it to ornament their 

 planted grounds ; and as it bears the knife 

 well, they clipped it into various shapes, mak- 

 ing it represent lions and other wild beasts 



among their shrubbery. It was I)rouQ;ht by colonists to North America, and 

 is found in planted o;rounds throuiiliout the middle States and Virginia; it is 

 not hardy north of 41° nortli latitude. 



Use, — The dwarf form is used for ornamental purposes in planted grounds, 

 and as borderings for gardens. The wood of the box-tree is used l)y turners 

 and musical-instrument makers, al.so for mathematical in.struments, scales, 

 rulers, slieaves, pestles, .screws, inlaying for tables and otlier cabinet ware, and 

 especially for wood-engraving, f<ti- which ]tnr])usc, <ui acct)unt of its close grain, 

 it is invaluable. 



It also enters into the materia medica. An extract is pre.scril)ed for inter- 

 mittent fevers and for kidney complaints. Its seeds are purgative, and all 

 parts of the plant are poi.siuious, especially the leaves. It is said that in 

 those parts of Persia where it grows, camels cannot be kept, as they are sure 

 to feed upon it and poii^on them.selves. 



yfarts. — The supply of the wood of the box comes from Smyrn:i, Constan- 

 tinople, and the i.<lands of the Grecian Archipelago. It is sold i»y wcighi. 

 England imports al)out 80,000 pounds annnallx . 

 Pr. Fl.— 16 



Buxus SEMPER^^RE^•s (Box). 



