Buxus microphylla

Buxus microphylla
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Plantae
Clade:Angiosperms
Clade:Eudicots
Order:Buxales
Family:Buxaceae
Genus:Buxus
Species: B. microphylla
Binomial name
Buxus microphylla
Fruit and foliage of a dwarf variety of Buxus microphylla (Hohman's Dwarf)

Buxus microphylla, the Japanese box or littleleaf box, is a species of Buxus native to Japan and Taiwan.[1]

It is an evergreen shrub or small tree. The leaves are bright green, 10–25 millimetres (0.39–0.98 in) long, oval with a rounded or notched tip.[2][3]

The species was first described from Japanese cultivated plants of an unknown origin; these are dwarf shrubs that only grow to a height of 1 metre (3 ft 3 in), possessing small leaves less than 18 millimetres (0.71 in) long.

Plants from Taiwan are distinguished as Buxus microphylla var. tarokoensis S.Y.Lu & Y.P.Yang.[4]

Plants from China and Korea formerly often cited as Buxus microphylla var. sinica are now treated as a distinct species Buxus sinica.[5]

The species is grown as an ornamental plant, both in its native area and elsewhere in temperate regions around the world.[6] The compact cultivar ‘Faulkner’ (1 metre (3.3 ft) tall by 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) broad) has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.[7]

Buxus microphylla var. compacta (Kingsville dwarf boxwood) and similar cultivars are frequently used for bonsai.

References

  1. ↑ "Buxus microphylla". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved September 26, 2007.
  2. ↑ Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan ISBN 0-333-47494-5.
  3. ↑ Bean, W. J. (1976). Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles 8th ed., vol. 1. John Murray ISBN 0-7195-1790-7.
  4. ↑ "Buxus microphylla var. tarokoensis". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved September 26, 2007.
  5. ↑ "Buxus microphylla var. sinica". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved September 26, 2007.
  6. ↑ Plants For A Future: Buxus microphylla Retrieved September 26, 2007.
  7. ↑ "RHS Plantfinder - Buxus microphylla 'Faulkner'". Retrieved 12 January 2018.
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