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CHINESE EXOTIC WOODS
Huangyang Mu
Boxwood
Westerners are familiar with ‘box’ (Buxus Sempervirens) as a very small, slow growing shrub. Owing to the small stature of the plant (one can hardly call it a tree) the wood is never available in large pieces. In appearance, it is very close to Ivory in that there is no no9ceable grain and the colour is a pale yellow turning to a warm brown yellow aIer exposure. Unlike yew, there is no dis9nguishable difference between heartwood and sapwood. The Chinese term Wangyang mu crept in to the western an9ques trade nomenclature rela9vely recently but it is just as ambiguous in English as it is in Chinese. In English, ‘huang’ means yellow and so the Chinese term is much less specific than the English term ‘box’ or ‘boxwood’ which has been used for centuries for fine, small objects like musical instruments and violin pegs. Because of its very fine capillaries, It is ideal for detailed carving, takes a beau9ful polish and doesn’t crack or split. The truth is that the term Huangyang mu must be considered a generic one because the genus Buxus encompasses about 70 species in the family Buxaceae of which maybe 17 are found in China. Small decora9ve and carved pieces can be found coming from China and purpor9ng to be boxwood or huangyang and yet they range in color from light yellow to dark brown, light in weight to quite heavy and inexpensive (sugges9ng it can be carved easily and rapidly) to very expensive. The wood cannot be from the same plant in all of these cases and it is unlikely that any of it derives from Buxus Sinica which is too small and ornamental (think bonsai trees) to be of much use in the 9mber trade.
