Introduction - places to see Box Photos to help you identify Box There are several places in the Chilterns where Box grows in areas accessible to the general public. It is worthwhile to visit these places to familiarise yourself with Buxus sempervirens. Visit the largest native Box woodland in the country near Princes Risborough in Buckinghamshire to see very old Box trees and Box-dominated woodland obtain a walk leaflet from the Chilterns Conservation Board. Other places to try include Shirburn Hill, off the M40 near Watlington in Oxfordshire and the Coombe at the National Trust Ashridge Estate, near Berkhamstead in Hertfordshire. Health and safety note - Box can be found in places that are easy to access, but there are also many Box woodlands on steep chalk slopes with loose soils - take care when exploring and take someone with you just in case! Box is also toxic so do not consume any part and avoid contact with the eyes.
1. Recognising the tree 1A ( Chris Smith) Twigs are densely leafy; glossy dark evergreen leaves occur in opposite pairs on the square stems; leaves are on short stalks, oval with blunt tips 10 25mm long, thick. Leaves can also be tinged orange/red and young leaves may not be glossy. Flowering starts in April. Flowers grow in clusters at the junction of leaves.
1B Female flowers develop into a green, dry capsule which ripens to a brown, stiff case with three segments around September; seeds are black. The photo above shows burst seed heads.
1C Box seedlings are shown above growing in loose soils with chalk pieces typical of Box sites. Seedlings also successfully germinate in short grass.
1D Bark on an established Box tree is very textured or fissured and feels like cork/sponge when pressed; bark is grey to brown. Foresters tape can measure girth and/or diameter.
1E Growth is compact, dense and spreading; trees can be single stemmed but are more often multi-stemmed. Stems are often twisting but straight stems are also possible. Where there are established clumps of Box, the interior of the clump is shaded and it is necessary to push through dense outer growth to reach the interior (as shown above).
1F 1G Box can grow to become a tall tree, sometimes baring its main stem(s). Maximum heights in this country tend to be around 6m.
1H WILD PRIVET BOX LONICERA NITIDA OR BOXLEAF HONEYSUCKLE YEW There are other plants that could be mistaken for Box, many which are common in the Chilterns and many associated with gardens. In addition to those shown below, blackthorn and butchers broom are other look a-likes.
1I Hollowing is a veteran characteristic. The tree in the photo measured 21cm girth which, combined with hollowing, suggests it is an ancient tree.
2. Box in the landscape 2A Steep, inaccessible chalk slopes are associated with Box. The photo shows Box dominating the canopy on a steep slope of a coombe on the Chilterns escarpment. Note the white/grey of wild clematis/old man s beard climbing over the Box. Box is easier to spot during the winter when deciduous trees and shrubs (on the left and in foreground) have lost their leaves.
2B Growing as an isolated individual on a semi-natural, grazed grassland near Princes Risborough. There are multiple stems. The tree is used as shelter by sheep grazing the grassland and there are rabbit burrows underneath.
2C BOX BOX Individual bushes or clumps can be found scattered some distance apart across a woodland or open landscape.
2D Box dominating the understorey; established trees, some with some trunks measuring 19cm girth; beech overstorey; very steep slope beside the flat green of a golf course; loose soil with chalk pieces visible; taller beech trees failing on the slope (see fallen tree on left).
2E 2F One or more bushes may be growing in churchyards and in public places. There are three Box trees in Great Kimble churchyard (one shown 2E) and there is one tree growing at the roadside near Tring Museum (see 2F).
2G Young and old Box can be found growing along boundaries and upon boundary banks. Box may grow as a dense hedge or as dispersed individuals along a boundary. Some hedges may be clipped or managed whilst others not. The trees shown above (2G) are growing beside a road and boundary wall in Monks Risborough.
2H Box is often found in gardens from small private gardens to large designed gardens such as at Cliveden. The Chilterns Box Woodland Project is not recording Box in garden settings but Box in the wider grounds of large estates are being addressed. 2I
3. Establishment and expansion 3A In the photo above, boughs are collapsing down a steep slope. Collapse is most likely when boughs are heavy and/or where the tree is growing on a slope. Loose soils also encourage collapse. Collapsed boughs root upon touching the ground (self-layer).
3B Look for upward growth along a line this indicates stems off a rooted bough; find a centre point where several collapsed boughs meet to locate where the tree first established. Some layered boughs may be partly or entirely buried and the upward growing branches are the only clue. Depending upon age, upward growing branches may be spindly or thick the photo above shows young, spindly branches.
3C The tree in the photo above grows in Tring Natural History Museum garden. The tree shows the self-layering process very well. The collapsed boughs are arranged around a central area of bare ground worn by visitors. The boughs are thick and have become buried nearer the centre. On the outskirts of the tree, smaller branches off these large boughs are rooting into the ground, continuing the gradual outward expansion of the tree.
3D Some Box trees sprout along main stems and this can be seen under dense canopies.
3E 3F Box seedlings encroach out from the edge of a patch, across the woodland floor (3E) and also onto adjacent open grassland (3F).
4. Pest, disease and damage 4A Cause of damage to tree above not yet confirmed suspected burrowing insect.
4B 4C Note grey dead branches on right hand side of canopy above (4B) and below (4C).
4D Dead Box overgrown with mosses.