boxwood, hard, heavy, fine-grained wood, usually white or light yellow, that is obtained from the common box (Buxus sempervirens) and other small trees of the genus Buxus. Boxwood also refers to many other woods with a similar density and grain, such as West Indian boxwood, a North American lumber trade name for wood from two tropical American trees, Casearia praecox of the family Salicaceae and Phyllostylon brasiliensis of the family Ulmaceae, and a number of woods from Australian trees in the genera Eucalyptus and Tristania (family Myrtaceae), Alyxia (family Apocynaceae), and Murraya (family Rutaceae).
Plants of the genus Buxus have small, smooth-edged, evergreen leaves and small, apetalous (without petals) flowers. Both male and female flowers are borne on the same plant. The female flowers are usually located above the male flowers and produce three-horned, capsulelike fruits. The common box (B. sempervirens), native to the Mediterranean area, has been used for centuries as a source of wood for engravings, inlays, musical instruments, and other articles that require a smooth-textured wood that can be highly polished. The tree is grown in many parts of the world as a border, hedge, or topiary (ornamentally shaped) plant because of its compact form and slow growth; it seldom exceeds 6 metres (20 feet) in height. The dwarf English boxwood, B. sempervirens, variety suffruticosa, is often used to edge walks in formal gardens. The Japanese boxwood (B. microphylla) and its varieties provide a wide range of ornamental shrubs.