Buxus sempervirens L., Buxaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  yes

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 7.5 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Buxus colchica Pojark.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: box, boxtree, boxwood, boxwood tree, Caucasian boxwood, common box, common boxwood, European boxwood, French boxwood, Persian boxwood, Turkish boxwood

Hawaiian: keakula

Habit:  shrub/tree

Description:  "Evergreen, much-branched, monoecious shrub or small tree up to 3-(8) m high. Shoots puberulent when young, becoming glabrous, 4-ridged. Leaves puberulent when young, becoming glabrous except near mid-vein, ovate or elliptic, retuse, obtuse at base and subsessile or very shortly petiolate, dark glossy green above, paler below, 15-30 mm long; leaf margin entire, somewhat revolute. Racemes congested in lf axils, many-flowered, c. 5 mm in diameter; ♂ flowers with 4 stamens and 4 calyx segments; ♂ and ♀ flowers bracteate. Capsule glabrous, ovoid-oblong, often veined, 6-10 mm long with 3 slightly divergent horns (remnants of styles); seeds ovoid-oblong, glossy black, 5-6 mm long"  (Webb et al., 1988;; p. 451).

Habitat/ecology:  In New Zealand, "scrubland, forest margins, waste places, cemeteries. Box is only locally established as a garden escape. It is grown widely as a hedging plant"  (Webb et al., 1988;; p. 451).  In Hawai‘i, "boxwood is easily cultivated at higher elevations where cooler temperature prevail.  The plants thrive in full sun or partial shade"  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 208).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Europe, northern Africa, southwestern Asia; also cultivated and naturalized (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawaiian Islands	introduced cultivated	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2005) (p. 208) cv. "Marginata"

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)	introduced invasive cultivated	Randall, R. P. (2007) (p. 86) Escape from cultivation.
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive cultivated	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 451)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	United States (other states)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011) NC, NY, OH, TN, VA

Additional information:
Additional online information about Buxus sempervirens is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Buxus sempervirens as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Buxus sempervirens may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. 2011. Annotated Checklist of Cultivated Plants of Hawai‘i (online searchable database).

Randall, R. P. 2007. The introduced flora of Australia and its weed status. CRC for Australian Weed Management, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia. 524 pp.
Also:  Searchable online database at http://weeds.cbit.uq.edu.au/.

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. 2005. A tropical garden flora: plants cultivated in the Hawaiian Islands and other tropical places. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 908 pp.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. 2011. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988. Flora of New Zealand, Volume IV: Naturalised pteridophytes, gymnosperms, dicotyledons. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch. 1365 pp.