Timberpedia - Box

Box

Latin Name:Irish Name:Native to Ireland?
Buxus sempervirens Yes

About the Tree 

Buxus sempervirens from the Family : Buxaceae
The Box tree only grows naturally only in chalk and limestone areas. A very dense small-leaved
native evergreen, with dark green glossy, leathery leaves which give off an unusual sweet smell.
Small tufty yellow flowers appear from late winter. It is slow slow growing and shade tolerant.

About the Wood

Excellent suitability for carving. Boxes are commonly used for hedges and topiary, and the dense
wood. Boxwood is often used for chess pieces. Wooden chess sets almost always use boxwood for
the white pieces and commonly use stained boxwood for the black pieces.

Box is twice as hard as Oak as it has a very fine, close uniform grain (as fine as Ebony) and does
not warp. Its density makes it also a very heavy wood and when it is green it will sink in water.

Buxus sempervirens Mature box tree
Buisfleurs Foliage and flowers
Boxwood Buxus sempervirens var. arborescens Bark 2597px Bark
About the TimberPedia

Know your wood! The Timberpedia is a broad resource that aims to catalogue all the major tree species in Ireland, containing information that we’ve gathered from over two decades maintaining our natural woodland and serving Ireland’s woodworking industry.

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