The Sweet Box Plant Species

Plant Profile of Christmas Box and Fragrant Sarcococca Rustifolia

Oct 5, 2009

Sweet box plant species is native to the Himalayas and has been used medicinally by indigenous people for centuries; sweet box was brought to Europe in the 19th century.

Sweet box is a member of the Buxaceae plant family and the sweet box plant species consists of approximately 16 -20 flowering plant species; perhaps the most common, or popular varieties of sweet box are fragrant sweet box (Sarcococca rusifolia) and Christmas box (Sarcococca hookeriana). Sweet box has been used for centuries in traditional Asian medicine and is an extremely fragrant plant.

Botanic Profile of Fragrant Sweet Box

Fragrant sweet box has fragrant, white flowers, which blossom in winter, and dark green leaves; it prefers shade to strong sun light and makes good ground cover for a shady corner. Fragrant sweet box is a slow grower and grows to a height of approximately five feet. Following the blossoming of the the sweet box flowers, the plant will develop red/black drupes which ripen in the Fall.

The 'Discovery' of Fragrant Sweet Box by European Plant Collectors

Fragrant sweet box is a native of China and was originally collected by a lesser known Scottish plant collector, Augustine Henry (1857 – 1930), who collected many plants throughout Asia on expeditions over his life time. A more prominent plant collector, Ernest H. Wilson ((1876 – 1930), later collected the sweet box plant species in China and also brought it back in Europe.

Botanic Profile of Christmas Box

Christmas box is very similar to fragrant sweet box; the main difference between the two varieties of sweet box is height. Christmas box earns its alternative name of dwarf fragrant sweet box because it only grows to a height of approximately one foot. Both Christmas box and fragrant sweet box are plants which can tolerate cold, due to the native Himalayan origins of sweet box, where the plant grows at an altitude of between 6,000 and 11,500 feet.

Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (1817 – 1911) was a botanist who influenced the history of Kew Gardens in London, England and was also a great friend of Charles Darwin; in addition, Joseph Hooker collected many plant species from the Himalayan region, including many species of rhododendrons. The botanical name for Christmas Box, Hookeriana, was named for Joseph Hooker.

Medicinal Uses of the Sweet Box Species

The sweet box plant species have been used in traditional, ancient medicine for illnesses such as rheumatism, malaria and and skin disease; steroidal alkaloids in the Sarcococca species demonstrate that the sweet box species have anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties, amongst others. However, although the sweet box plant species has been used by indigenous people for medicinal uses for centuries, scientists are still examining the safety and use of the sweet box species for common medicinal use.

The Sweet Box Plant Species for Gardens

Fragrant sweet box and Christmas box are now used as low, lying plant cover in shady parts of gardens in Europe and North America; like many other plants in gardens today, the sweet box species was collected by 19th century European plant collectors and brought back from Asia. The sweet box plant species is native to cold weather conditions.

References:

Central Department of Chemistry, Tribhuvan University, Nepal, University of Sydney, Australia, 2006, Phytochemical Studies on the Ariel Parts of Sarcococca Hookeriana (Baillon) of Nepalese Origin Study

National Botanic Gardens of Ireland (GLASRA Archives) web site Augustine Henry: His Botanical Activities in China 1882 – 1890 Accessed 10/5/09

The copyright of the article The Sweet Box Plant Species in Medicinal Plants is owned by Sharon Falsetto. Permission to republish The Sweet Box Plant Species in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.