Castle Howard Arboretum Trust - Furniture Makers Trees

Botanical name: Buxus sempervirens

Family: Buxaceae

Common Name: Box

Habitat and Distribution:

Natural distribution in a few locations in Southern England and distributed though Southern Europe, N. Africa and Western Asia.

Prefers chalk and limestone slopes, with moist, cool soil in full sun or light shade protected from winter winds.

Description:

Evergreen small tree/shrub, slow growing, long lived, dense and multibranched. Height 4-6 metres (15-20 ft) with an equal spread.

The leathery leaves are dark green above, lighter yellow green below and are elliptical, 1-2.5 cm long, half as wide and broadest below the middle. The foliage gives off a distinct fragrance/odour. In winter the foliage tends to "bronze" due to cold and exposure.

The yellow green male and female flowers are produced in April; they are fragrant, but not showy and are attractive to bees.

Fruit capsules are about 0.8 cm long, with 3 double horns, they split open and fall from the tree in September.

New stems are greenish and slightly 4-angled whereas older stems are brown, but hidden by foliage.

Timber:

Boxwood is smooth, very hard & dense and creamy yellow, becoming bronze with age.

Location within the arboretum:

A group of specimens are located in the old entrance gate area. As you enter this area though the gate in the deer fence the trees can be found about 30 m away, on the left by the fence.

Furniture Makers Trees at The Arboretum - Kew at Castle Howard

Uses:

It takes a high polish and is used for turning and as inlays.

Unsurpassed for detailed carving, used by Robert Adams for intaglio carving and is the preferred wood for engraving blocks.

An excellent turnery wood making it ideal for shuttles, textile rollers, pulley blocks, mallet heads, and especially tool handles and rulers.

It is still used for the screws and pegs of musical instruments.

An extract has been used medicinally as a blood purifier.

Box has important landscape use as a hedge plant, for mass plantings, topiary and formal plantings. It is generally agreed to offer good deer resistance.