Boxwood
Halq’emeylem Name
Currently unknown
Latin Name
Buxus microphylla Siebold & Zucc. ‘Winter Gem’
Pronunciation
About Boxwood
The boxwood plant, also known as a box, is a small leaved evergreen tree-like shrub that is ubiquitous in any Shakespeare or Italianate garden. It has small oval green to yellow-green leaves. There are over 360 cultivars of Boxwood found across Asia, Europe, North America, and Africa. It has been used as an ornamental plant dating back to the Roman Empire (European Boxwood Topiary Society, 2020). Prior to cultivation, boxwoods grew as trees all over England. The ability to sculpt elaborate topiaries, construct structured borders, and prune flowing shapes allow the boxwood to take on many different forms within a garden (Ellacombe, 1896, p. 33).
Although it is toxic, the boxwood bush has been historically used to treat various ailments, and as a general antiseptic, all at the same time serving an old-worldly garden aesthetic. CH
Connections
Shakespeare
In Elizabethan England, Shakespeare would have seen boxwood used to form elaborate patterns (“knots”) on a square plot of land (Strong, 2016).
In Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, pranksters hide behind a boxwood in the formal garden belonging to the lady Olivia. “Get you all three into the box tree,” says Olivia’s lady-in-waiting, Maria (2.5), and from this vantage point Sir Toby and his friends observe and comment upon the effect of their joke on Malvolio.
Boxwood adds a definitive Old-World formal garden flavour that harkens back to the Elizabethan gardens of England. In this garden, the boxwood is used to border the path, guiding you through the garden. CH
Indigenous Knowledge
Boxwood is native to Europe, where pollen has been found in England dating from 7000 B.C.E. (Bailey).
We are currently unaware of North American Indigenous knowledge regarding boxwood.
In Europe, boxwood was valued as a hard wood that can be finely carved (Larkin).
Gallery
References
Images: Gordon Gaippe / Fay Kovacs
Alternative Medicine (ECAM), 1–17. https://doi-org.proxy.ufv.ca:2443/10.1155/2020/8749083.
Bailey, James Crebbin. Timeline in “History.” European Boxwood and Topiary Society. https://ebts.org/history/
Ellacombe, H. N. (1896). Plant-lore and garden-craft of Shakespeare. London, England: Edward Arnold.
European Boxwood Topiary Society. (2020). Boxwood History. Retrieved from https://www.ebts.org/history/.
Integrated Taxonomic Information System. (n.d.). Buxus microphylla Siebold & Zucc. Retrieved from https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=506450#null
Larkin, Deirdre. “The Medieval Garden Enclosed.” The Cloisters Museum and Gardens. Retrieved from https://blog.metmuseum.org/cloistersgardens/2009/12/18/boxwood/
Strong, R. (2016). The Quest for Shakespeare’s Garden. New York, NY: Thames and Hudson Inc.
Uzor, P. F. (2020). Alkaloids from Plants with Antimalarial Activity: A Review of Recent Studies. Evidence-Based Complementary