Boxwood - Boxwood

An evergreen small tree of the Buxaceae family (APG classification: Buxaceae). It is also called Asama boxwood because it grows on Mt. Asama in Mie Prefecture. It usually grows to 2-3 meters in height, but some can reach up to 9 meters. The leaves grow densely on all branches, are yellowish-green, elliptical to oblong, 2-3 cm long and 1-1.5 cm wide. They are leathery with a glossy surface, slightly turned underside at the edges, and bluntly pointed or slightly concave at the tips. Monoecious. In March and April, short racemes grow in the axils, with many male flowers at the base and one female flower in the center. Male flowers have four sepals and four stamens, while female flowers have six sepals and a three-lobed ovary. The fruit is a capsule that splits into three compartments, each containing two shiny seeds. The wood is hard and dense, and is used for combs, printing blocks, and seals. It grows on rocky areas in the mountains from the Kanto region west of Honshu to Kyushu and Yakushima.

The Korean boxwood variety has small leaves and hairy young branches, and is found in Hiroshima Prefecture, Okayama Prefecture, the Korean Peninsula, and China. The Taiwan boxwood variety has hairy young branches like the Korean boxwood, but has large leaves. It is found from Okinawa to China. The basic species, boxwood, is also called Kusatsuge, and is used as a garden tree or flower fence.

[Kyoshio Furusawa May 19, 2020]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

ツゲ科（APG分類：ツゲ科）の常緑小高木。三重県朝熊(あさま)山に生えるのでアサマツゲの名もある。普通は高さ2～3メートルであるが、大きいものは9メートルにもなる。葉は全枝に密生し、黄緑色を帯び、楕円(だえん)形から長楕円形、全縁で長さ2～3センチメートル、幅1～1.5センチメートル。革質で、表面は光沢があり、縁(へり)がわずかに裏面にまくれ、先は鈍くとがるか、わずかにへこむ。雌雄同株。3～4月、葉腋(ようえき)に短い総状花序をつけ、多数の雄花が基部に、中央に1個の雌花がある。雄花は萼片(がくへん)4枚、雄しべは4本、雌花は萼片6枚、子房は3室。果実は蒴果(さくか)で、三つに裂開し、各室に2個の光沢のある種子を含む。材は硬く、緻密(ちみつ)で、櫛(くし)や版木、印判などに用いられる。関東地方以西の本州から九州、屋久島の山地の岩場に生える。

　変種のチョウセンヒメツゲは葉は小さく、若枝に毛があり、広島県、岡山県、朝鮮半島、中国に分布する。また、変種タイワンアサマツゲはチョウセンヒメツゲ同様若枝に毛があるが、葉が大きい。沖縄から中国に分布する。基本種であるヒメツゲはクサツゲともいい、庭園樹や花垣に用いられる。

［古澤潔夫　2020年5月19日］

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