Buxus vahlii NatureServe Explorer Species Reports — NatureServe Explorer is a source for authoritative conservation information on more than 50,000 plants, animals and ecological communtities of the U.S and Canada. NatureServe Explorer provides in-depth information on rare and endangered species, but includes common plants and animals too. NatureServe Explorer is a product of NatureServe in collaboration with the Natural Heritage Network.
ITIS Reports — Buxus vahlii ITIS (the Integrated Taxonomic Information System) is a source for authoritative taxonomic information on plants, animals, fungi, and microbes of North America and the world.
FWS Digital Media Library — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Digital Library is a searchable collection of selected images, historical artifacts, audio clips, publications, and video.
uxus vahlii, or Vahl’s boxwood, is a rare species of plant in the boxwood family. It is native to Puerto Rico and St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where it is known from no more than four populations total. It has probably never been very common, but its distribution has been reduced by deforestation and other human disturbance of its habitat. At the time it was listed as an endangered species of the United States in 1985, it was thought to be endemic to Puerto Rico. Reports that it existed in Jamaica have not been confirmed. A few individuals have been located in St. Croix, some of which are within Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge.
This is a shrub or small tree which can reach 5 meters in height. The stem has two grooves below each node, an identifying characteristic. Clusters of flowers yield fruits which are horned capsules containing black seeds.
