box3

noun

• 1 (also box tree) a slow-growing European evergreen shrub or small tree with small glossy dark green leaves. It is widely used in hedging and for topiary, and yields hard, heavy timber.

  • Buxus sempervirens, family Buxaceae
• (also boxwood) the hard, heavy wood of the box tree, formerly used for engraving and for musical instruments.

• 2any of a number of trees which have timber or foliage similar to that of the box tree, in particular:

  • several Australian eucalyptus trees (genus Eucalyptus, family Myrtaceae). the tropical American Venezuelan (or West Indian) box (Casearia praecox, family Flacourtiaceae), the timber of which has now largely replaced that of the European box.