Boxwood

2024 Author: Jasmine Walkman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 08:29

Boxwood or boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) is a small tree or densely branched shrub of the boxwood family. The botanical name of boxwood - Buxus in Greek means "dense" and is associated with the density of the leaves, which tightly cover the branches.

Boxwood leaves are leathery, overwintering, oblong - ovate or elliptical, entire, glabrous, opposite, 1, 5–3 cm long and up to 1.5 cm wide, dark green and glossy above, light green and matte below, curled at the edge, sessile or with short handles.

Inflorescences are heads located in the axils of the leaves. The flowers of the shrub are unisexual, with a simple yellow-green perianth (males with a four-part and females with a six-part). The fruit of the boxwood is a box, cracking into 3 parts, with horns on top.

The plant blooms in April and May. It is distributed in Southwestern Europe, North Africa, West Asia. In Bulgaria it is found all over the country. For many years, boxwoods have been one of the most popular and widely used landscaping plants, in the form of ornamental shrubs or dense, evergreen hedges in shady places.

Types of boxwood

There are about 30 species boxwoodwhose homeland is the Mediterranean and Southeast Asia. Many varieties have been created, but most often boxwoods are divided into small-leaved and large-leaved or low-stemmed and tall-stemmed. The difference is not only in the size of the leaves and the height of the stems, but also in the growth rate. Boxwood, especially small-leaved, is a shade-loving shrub.

Evergreen boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) is the most commonly grown. In its native places it can grow as a tree up to 10 m high, and reaches the age of 800 years. Over time, many forms and varieties have been created from it.

Smaller and more variegated varieties are B. Sempervirens Marginata (leaves with yellow edges) and B. Sempervirens Aureovariegata (leaves with yellow spots). If you need small boxwood for placement only at the end of a path, you can stop at B. Sempervirens Suffruticosa.

The tall and compact forms of boxwood allow you to make hedges and impressive figures, and dwarf varieties are used to outline paths and divide beds.

History of boxwood

No doubt boxwood is a classic landscaping plant that was practiced by the Romans and probably by their ancestors. In the Middle Ages, art was revived. In the 16th century it was in vogue for a while, and in the 19th century it was re-established. Today, the formation of shrubs is back.

In France, pruning is done ornamentally. In England, on the other hand, there is a tradition in shaping various boxwood figures. Shapes such as spirals, balls, cones, pyramids, mushrooms, tall stems and boxwood sculptures such as chickens, swans and rabbits and many other bizarre shapes are known. Because boxwood is long-lived, pruned plants can be planted in valuable antique pots.

Composition of boxwood

Boxwood contains up to 1% alkaloids. More than 30 different steroid alkaloids have been isolated and identified. The leaves and young twigs also contain essential oils, flavonoids and resinous substances.

Growing boxwood

Boxwood it is not at all pretentious in terms of soil and light. If planted in the sun, it will grow vigorously, but will thrive in partial shade. Boxwood tolerates transplanting at any age and changing the place does not hurt at all.

When a hedge is made of it, it is usually planted in a row. However, if you need a thick and thick fence like a wall, checkerboard planting in two rows is practiced. Tall forms are planted at a distance of 35-45 cm between plants, and dwarfs - more densely.

In order for the fences, curbs and boxwood figures to be beautiful and compact, the crowns of the plants should be trimmed every 6 weeks from May to August. Cut branches about 10 cm long can take root, resulting in a large amount of seedlings.

In the first year of planting, ornamental shrubs are pruned only once to cause abundant growth of twigs at the base. From the second year, it is pruned several times during the summer to thicken the crown and the bushes to take the desired shape.

During the growing season, moderate humidity is maintained. A temporary drought would not have a fatal effect on the plant. However, do not forget to fertilize the ornamental shrub every month from May to August. The plant is propagated by division, as the separated parts are planted deeper than before. It can also be propagated by cuttings in March or August.

Collection and storage of boxwood

The leaves of are used boxwood, harvested during flowering. The leaves are picked by cutting off the leafy top twigs. They are tied and dried stretched on wire or in an oven at a temperature of up to 40 degrees. Dried herbs are stored in ventilated rooms, being careful not to mix with other species.

Benefits of boxwood

Boxwood has a proven diaphoretic, choleretic, laxative, disinfectant, anti-fever effect. It is used for biliary insufficiency, gout, epilepsy, rheumatism and fevers. The plant is effective in colds and flu. Boxwood is also used to purify the blood in nervous disorders. The drug also has a beneficial effect on diabetes, slowly healing infected wounds and more.

The essential oil, which is extracted from the wood, has been used as an herbal remedy in cases of epilepsy. The oil has also been used for toothache and hemorrhoids. The alkaloids and tannins found in the herb have a laxative and antipyretic effect. In addition, a decoction of boxwood is taken to stimulate the immune system, in arthritis, to detoxify the blood.

Folk medicine with boxwood

According to Bulgarian folk medicine, boxwood decoction restores the condition of renal failure, supports the excretion of urine and has a beneficial effect on various inflammations of the kidneys.

For this purpose, 450 ml of water is boiled. Add 2 tablespoons of chopped boxwood / with twigs and leaves /. Boil the mixture for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. After 60 minutes, strain. The liquid is taken 2 times a day in the morning on an empty stomach and in the evening before meals. No sugar, honey or other sweetener is added, however the taste of the liquid is pleasant.

Over time, the dose is gradually increased. If in the first months you take about 400 ml per day, then 5 months later you can drink 1 liter. It is very important to be careful not to overdose. The appearance of the disorder is a sign that the amount of tea should be reduced immediately.

Externally, the herb is used in the form of a decoction of powdered dry leaves. To make the decoction, you need 40 g of leaves, which are boiled in 1 liter of water until the water boils in half. The decoction is used to prepare compresses, washes, baths, etc. It can also be applied internally by drinking 1 cup of tea in the morning on an empty stomach and the patient stays warm while sweating.

When hair falls, soak the leaves from boxwood in wine vinegar in a ratio of 1:10 and use as a lotion before bathing. For rubbing in rheumatism, soak the boxwood leaves in brandy in a ratio of 1:10.

Our folk medicine recommends the following recipe for seborrhea, alopecia, dandruff: 10 g of the herb is soaked in 100 ml of alcohol. They stay for about 20 days.

Harm from boxwood

Despite its healing properties, boxwood is a toxic plant and should not be taken in large doses. The herb should only be used under the supervision of a doctor, as the drug has not been fully tested for its toxic side effects.

Symptoms of acute boxwood poisoning are severe colic-like pain, accompanied by nausea, vomiting and diarrhea or severe headache with visual disturbances, the appearance of hematuria.

There is also a slow and arrhythmic heart rate, a drop in blood pressure. In the beginning there are excitatory phenomena, and later - depression, apathy, drowsiness. The danger comes from heart failure, which can lead to death by suffocation.