Family: Buxaceae
Common Name: boxwood
Origin/Ecology: Native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa, southwest Asia, southern England to northern Morocco, east through northern Mediterranean region to Turkey.
Habit: Shrub or small tree growing to 1-9 m tall. Compact, slow-growing.
Leaves: Green to yellow-green, oval, 1.5-3 cm long, 0.5-1.3 cm broad.
Leaf Arrangement: opposite
Flowers and Fruit: Hermaphrodite flowers are inconspicuous, greenish-yellow, no petals, insect pollinated. Fruit is three-lobed capsule containing 3-6 seeds.
Bark:
Water Use, Soil: Moist but well-drained.
Exposure: Part to full shade.
Landscape Uses: Hedging, screens, banks and slopes, ground cover, edging, containers.
Limitations: Box sucker, mussel scale, box red spider mite, leaf spot, box blight.
Other Features: Smells like cat pee