How do you recognise Common box (Buxus sempervirens)?

Leaf

Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, Wikimedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Common box

Buxus sempervirens L.

Also known as: Box, Boxwood

Family: Buxaceae

1 to 5 m tall, often clipped much lower

Limestone slopes, open woodland, widely planted as a hedge

Flowering: March – April

Full sun

Part shade

Shade

Very hardy, to -20°C

❓ How do you recognise this plant?

Dense evergreen foliage with a distinctive smell when crushed — often clipped into hedges or topiary. Japanese holly, often planted in place of box to escape box tree moth, has alternate leaves that are odourless when crushed, whereas common box has leaves opposite in pairs and a characteristic smell when crushed.

🍃 Leaves

Small, oval, leathery, evergreen, opposite

🌸 Flowers

Tiny, yellowish, clustered in the leaf axils

🍎 Fruits

Small 3-horned capsules

🪵 Bark

Grey, cracking into small square plates with age

🗺️ Distribution

Southern and western Europe, North Africa; common on limestone slopes, notably in garrigue and in certain valleys.

🐝 Value for pollinators

Inconspicuous but early flowering, a source of pollen for the first bees of spring.

✂️ Horticultural uses

Emblematic of topiary and clipped hedges, widely used in topiary despite box tree moth.

⚠️ Possible toxicity

All parts toxic (alkaloids), causing digestive and nervous disorders if ingested. Avoid any consumption and keep clippings out of reach of animals.

⚠️ Look-alike species

Common box

Buxus sempervirens

Japanese holly

Ilex crenata

Japanese holly, often planted in place of box to escape box tree moth, has alternate leaves that are odourless when crushed, whereas common box has leaves opposite in pairs and a characteristic smell when crushed.

🌿 Other Buxaceae to discover

Christmas box

Sarcococca confusa

Japanese spurge

Pachysandra terminalis

ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.

🌱 This database is constantly evolving — species and information are added and corrected regularly. Spotted a mistake? Report it below.