Buxus sempervirens
Common name:
Common Boxwood
Common Box
European Box
Pronunciation:
BUK-sus sem-per-VI-renz
Family:
Buxaceae
Genus:
Type:
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon:
No
- Broadleaf evergreen shrub, 15-20(30) ft [4.5-6(9) m] high, dense, multibranched, rounded or broad outline. Stem angular ("square"). Leaves opposite, simple, elliptic to oblong, 12-25 mm long, about half as wide, obtuse or emarginate (notched) at apex, dark green above, light or yellowish green below, midvein below is cream to yellowish. Creamy flowers, without petals, develop in leaf axils in spring, fragrant. Fruit globose, 8 mm long, three-horned, dehiscent capsule.
- Sun to part shade, adaptable, responds well to mulching; a surface rooter
- Hardy to USDA Zone (5)6 Native to southern Europe, northern Africa, western Asia. It is a variable species, both in cultivation and in the wild, and has given rise to many cultivars (26 are described my Dirr, 1998). The cultivars are much more common in cultivation than is the species.
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Probably the most common cultivar is 'Suffruticosa', Edging Boxwood; other available selections include:
- ‘Arborescens’ - tree-like growth, leaves quite large, twice as long as wide.
- ‘Aurea-pendula’ - upright, but also weeping, leaves yellow and green (variegated)
- ‘Latifolia Maculata’ - bright yellow then green, blotched with dull yellow in summer
- 'Variegata' - bright green with white margins that turn cream and finally light yellow
- sempervirens: always green, evergreen
Click image to enlarge
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plant habit, old shrub
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vigorous shoots
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leafy shoot
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flowers and leaves
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leaves and fruit
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shoots, comparison
