BOX TREE. 



719 



THE FLOWERS. 



THE FRUIT. 



have a dark green and shining upper surface, on which the mid-rib 

 is prominent, and a paler-green and smooth under-side. The 

 leaves, which in substance are thick, leathery, and opaque, and 

 which have a strong scent, vary very much in form. Some have 

 pointed tips, others notched : some are cup-shaped, others are bowed 

 from tip to base, but have a flat surface : more often the mid-rib 

 is straight and the two edges of the blade up-turned. Though each 

 pair of leaves is arranged on the shoot at right angles to the pair 

 above and below it, the leaves often appear to lie in one plane, 

 forming two ranks on either side of the shoot, like the leaflets of 

 the ash. On account of their short stalks, and the acute angle at 



