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Box family
Buxaceae
ツゲ科
A small family including Buxus and Pachysandra, with about 6 genera and 120 species in temperate to tropical regions. Placed in Buxales (a basal eudicot group) under APG IV, outside the core eudicots. Boxwood timber is prized for its dense grain in fine craftsmanship.
Key Characteristics
- ●Evergreen shrubs to trees or climbers
- ●Leaves coriaceous, opposite or alternate
- ●Flowers unisexual, apetalous
- ●Mostly monoecious
- ●Capsules or drupes
Morphological Traits
A family may include species with different trait values — multiple values indicate the range within the family.
Leaf arrangement
Alternate / Opposite
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Pinnate
Leaf margin
Dentate / Entire
Growth form
Shrub / Tree / Herb
Evergreen/Deciduous
Evergreen
Leaf dissection
Undivided
Stipules
Absent
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Petal count
4 petals / 6 petals
Petal fusion
Free
Ovary position
Superior
Plant sex
Dioecious / Monoecious
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Basal eudicots > Buxales > Buxaceae
Divergence Era
Middle Cretaceous (approx. 100 million years ago)
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Early divergence at the base of eudicots, branching off before the core eudicots
- ・Adaptation to drought and shade through coriaceous leaves
Plants in Box family on this site
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