Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Section: Common Name: Scientific Name: Family:
Account for Common Boxwood - Buxus sempervirens   L.
Members of Buxaceae:
Only member of Buxus in NC.
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Section 6 » Order Euphorbiales » Family Buxaceae
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AuthorL.
DistributionApparently the Mountains only. Other specimens from Avery, Buncombe, Iredell, Mecklenburg, Orange, Polk, Rowan, Rutherford, Wake, and Watauga counties are all from cultivated plants or there are no images or label data at SERNEC. A specimen from Moore County is Ilex vomitoria.

Native of Europe; in N.A. scattered east of the Mississippi River.
Abundance
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Phenology
IdentificationThis is the familiar planted shrub of city downtowns and college campuses with small, evergreen leaves, an extremely dense growth form -- you cannot see through a bush -- and a strong "fragrance". In the field it may look very similar to Ilex vomitoria, but leaf margins lack crenate teeth.
Taxonomic Comments
Other Common Name(s)
State RankSE
Global RankGNR
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US Status
USACE-agcp
USACE-emp
County Map - click on a county to view source of record.