Cultivation Box plants are commonly grown as
hedges and for
topiary. In Britain and mainland Europe, box is subject to damage from
caterpillars of
Cydalima perspectalis which can devastate a box hedge within a short time. This is a recently introduced species first noticed in Europe in 2007 and in the UK in 2008 but spreading. There were 3 UK reports of infestation in 2011, 20 in 2014 and 150 in the first half of 2015.
Wood carving . Owing to its fine grain it is a good wood for fine
wood carving, although this is limited by the small sizes available. It is also resistant to splitting and chipping, and thus useful for
decorative or
storage boxes. Traditional Japanese boxwood combs are called
Tsuge Gushi and have been in production since the
Heian Period. As a timber or wood for carving it is "boxwood" in all varieties of English. Owing to the relatively high density of the
wood, boxwood is often used for
chess pieces; unstained boxwood for the white pieces, and stained ('
ebonized') boxwood for the black pieces in lieu of
ebony. The extremely fine
endgrain of box makes it suitable for
woodblock printing and
woodcut blocks, for which it was the usual material in Europe. In the 16th century, boxwood was used to create intricate decorative carvings, including intricate
rosary prayer beads. As of 2016, the largest collection of these carvings is at the
Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. High quality wooden spoons have usually been carved from box, with
beech being the usual cheaper substitute.
Musical instruments Due to its high density, resistance to chipping, and relatively low cost, boxwood has been used to make parts for various
stringed instruments since antiquity. It is mostly used to make tailpieces, chin rests and tuning pegs, but may be used for a variety of other parts as well. Other woods used for this purpose are
rosewood and ebony. Boxwood was a common material for the manufacture of
recorders in the eighteenth century, and a large number of mid- to high-end instruments made today are produced from one or other species of boxwood. Boxwood was once a popular wood for other woodwind instruments, and was among the traditional woods for
Great Highland bagpipes before tastes turned to imported dense tropical woods such as
cocuswood,
ebony, and
African blackwood.
Historical Prior to the development of
plastics, boxwood was important to a wide range of fields from engineering to arts, construction to cartography, due to its density and stability making it one of the best available materials for measurement
scales and
technical drawing rulers. Alternative materials of the era were
ivory, paper, and metal. Disadvantages of ivory included that it would slightly shrink over time, the size and shape of blanks was limited by that of the tusk, and supply was limited. Paper was soft, difficult to use, and did not last long. Metal marked the surface it was being used on and increased expense. Ebony was another dense and stable wood prized for drawing instruments but typically only if scales were not necessary; boxwood's light color contrasted much better with scales. Devices made of boxwood included
set squares, scale rulers,
yardsticks, folding rulers,
slide rules,
Marquois scales, T-squares,
protractors, and a wide range of other measuring, metering, and straight-edge devices and tools, as well as general functional items such as
combs, weaving
shuttles, etc. A
boxwood rule generally refers to a style of folding ruler with brass hinge(s).
General Thomas F. Meagher decorated the hats of the men of the
Irish Brigade with boxwood during the
American Civil War, as he could find no
shamrock. ==See also==