littleleaf boxwood

Buxus microphylla Siebold & Zucc.

Littleleaf boxwood is often appreciated as a clipped outline, but its identity is also written in each tiny leaf. The evergreen foliage is leathery, smooth-edged and arranged in opposite pairs. Individual leaves may have a slight notch at the tip. Together they create the fine, densely packed surface that allows this slow-growing shrub to be shaped into hedges, rounded forms or small topiary. NC State Extension: Buxus microphylla

Wear littleleaf boxwood: explore the botanical t-shirt

Botanical name

Buxus microphylla Siebold & Zucc is accepted in the cited taxonomic treatment. The supplied database name identifies the same species. Kew POWO: Buxus microphylla

Recognizing the plant

Young stems are green and square in cross-section, becoming brown with age. The flowers are small and inconspicuous, with separate male and female flowers on a plant. Brown, three-chambered capsules follow and split open when mature. The leathery leaf blades are broadest around the middle, commonly less than an inch long. Some forms develop orange-brown foliage under winter extremes. NC State Extension: Buxus microphylla

Bloom window

North Carolina, United States

North Carolina's extension account records small, fragrant flowers in spring. NC State Extension: Buxus microphylla

Native range

Buxus microphylla is native to central and southern Japan. Its widespread use in formal gardens represents cultivation outside that original geographic range. Kew POWO: Buxus microphylla