Buxus macowanii | |
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Plate by Matilda Smith (1854–1926) | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Buxales |
Family: | Buxaceae |
Genus: | Buxus |
Species: | B. macowanii |
Binomial name | |
Buxus macowanii Oliv. (1886) | |
Synonyms | |
Buxus macowanii, aka Cape box, is an evergreen species of boxwood endemic to South Africa, where it occurs in two disjunct populations - in coastal forest and shady ravines from the Eastern Cape to southern Natal, and in the Waterberg of the central Transvaal. The genus Buxus , comprising more than 100 species, is found worldwide, but is absent from Australia.
Cape box is a small, evergreen, slow-growing tree reaching about 10m in height, with glabrous, opposite and entire leaves, some 2.5 cm long. Fruit spherical and trilete, crowned by the 3 persistent styles or horns.
The species' commercial value was first realised in 1884 when David Hutchins, the Conservator of Forests in King William's Town, reported "the coast forests have come into notice during the year, by the discovery that the so-called Cape box is of value for engraving and other purposes for which real boxwood is used. The area of box-producing forest in the Buffalo River valley is estimated at fifteen square miles. Box also occurs in the valley of the Keiskama River, near the coast, but has not as yet been detected west of this in the valleys of the Fish River, Kowie River and the Bushman's River ". [1]
The specific name honours Peter MacOwan, who received specimens of the plant from Hutchins and passed them on to Hooker - the word 'buxus' is ancient Latin for the boxwood tree.
The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive several hundred centimeters of rain per year, they have long dry seasons that last several months and vary with geographic location. These seasonal droughts have great impact on all living things in the forest.
The Buxales are a small order of eudicot flowering plants, recognized by the APG IV system of 2016. The order includes the family Buxaceae; the families Didymelaceae and Haptanthaceae may also be recognized or may be included in the Buxaceae. Many members of the order are evergreen shrubs or trees, although some are herbaceous perennials. They have separate "male" (staminate) and "female" (carpellate) flowers, mostly on the same plant. Some species are of economic importance either for the wood they produce or as ornamental plants.
Buxus is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood.
Ilex opaca, the American holly, is a species of holly, native to the eastern and south-central United States, from coastal Massachusetts south to central Florida, and west to southeastern Missouri and eastern Texas.
Laurel forest, also called laurisilva or laurissilva, is a type of subtropical forest found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable, mild temperatures. The forest is characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glossy and elongated leaves, known as "laurophyll" or "lauroid". Plants from the laurel family (Lauraceae) may or may not be present, depending on the location.
Acer macrophyllum, the bigleaf maple or Oregon maple, is a large deciduous tree in the genus Acer.
Vitex lucens, or pūriri, is an evergreen tree endemic to New Zealand.
Ilex crenata, the Japanese holly or box-leaved holly is a species of flowering plant in the family Aquifoliaceae, native to eastern China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Sakhalin.
Buxus sempervirens, the common box, European box, or boxwood, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Buxus, native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa, and southwest Asia, from southern England south to northern Morocco, and east through the northern Mediterranean region to Turkey. Buxus colchica of western Caucasus and B. hyrcana of northern Iran and eastern Caucasus are commonly treated as synonyms of B. sempervirens.
Buxus microphylla, the Japanese box or littleleaf box, is a species of flowering plant in the box family found in Japan and Taiwan. It is a dwarf evergreen shrub or small tree growing to 1 m (3.3 ft) tall and wide.
Indoor bonsai are bonsai cultivated for the indoor environment. Traditionally, bonsai are temperate climate trees grown outdoors in containers. Tropical and sub-tropical tree species can be cultivated to grow and thrive indoors, with some suited to bonsai aesthetics shaped as traditional outdoor or wild bonsai.
Strychnos psilosperma, known as the strychnine tree or threaded boxwood, is a shrub or small tree endemic to New South Wales and Queensland in Australia. It may reach a height of 18 metres.
Kiggelaria africana is a large, robust, low-branching African tree, and is currently the only accepted species in the genus Kiggelaria.
Chrysolepis chrysophylla is a species of flowering shrub or tree in the beech family known by the common names golden chinquapin, giant chinquapin, and western chinquapin. It is native to the Pacific coast of the United States.
Mallotus tetracoccus, also known as the rusty kamala, is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae. It is a tree species found in parts of south Asia, typically occurring in the edges of tropical wet evergreen and semi-evergreen forests.
Protorhus longifolia, the red beech, is a medium to large, mostly dioecious species of tree in the family Anacardiaceae. It is native to South Africa and Eswatini, where it occurs in well-watered situations from coastal elevations to 1,250 m. The leafy, evergreen trees have rounded crowns and usually grow between 6 and 10 m tall, but regularly taller in forest.
Buxus 'Green Velvet' or Green Velvet Boxwood is a hybrid boxwood cultivar. Its parent species are B. sempervirens × B. microphylla var. koreana. It is a broad, compact shrub that grows to 3 to 4 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet wide. The leaves are evergreen, glossy and borne oppositely. It has small pale green flowers. If not pruned this shrub will develop a natural rounded shape. Buxus Green Velvet is a hybrid between Buxus sempervirens and buxus microphylla var. Koreana.
The Somali montane xeric shrublands is a desert and xeric scrubland ecoregion in Somalia. The ecoregion lies in the rugged Karkaar Mountains, which run parallel and close to Somalia's northern coast on the Gulf of Aden, and follows coast from Cape Guardafui south to Eyl on the Arabian Sea.
Buxus balearica, the Balearic boxwood, is a shrub or small evergreen tree typical of the Mediterranean forest. It grows wild in Algeria, Morocco, the Island of Sardinia and Spain.
Xanthophyllum octandrum, commonly known as Macintyre's boxwood, false jitta, yellow boxwood or sovereignwood, is a slow-growing tree in the milkwort family Polygalaceae which has the potential to reach thousands of years of age. It is endemic to coastal northeastern Queensland, Australia.