Paxistima myrsinites

Oregon boxwood, Oregon Boxwood

Family: Celastraceae · Type: shrub · Native

Oregon boxwood is a California native shrub found in northwestern California, the Cascade Range, northern and central Sierra Nevada, northern San Francisco Bay area (Marin County), and the Modoc Plateau in shaded places at elevations of 180 to 2,120 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces small, subtle flowers with ovate petals approximately 1 millimeter long. Growing with prostrate to spreading stems 30 to 100 centimeters tall that are stiff and densely branched, it forms a compact, intricate shape. Its leaves are ovate to oblanceolate, 8 to 34 millimeters long, with tapered bases and rounded to acute tips, creating a delicate green texture. The fruits are small, obovoid structures measuring 4 to 7 millimeters in length.

Habitat: Shaded places

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: 180-2120 m

Bioregions: NW, CaR, n&ampc SN, n SnFrB (Marin Co.), MP

California counties: Humboldt, Siskiyou, Del Norte, Shasta, Sonoma, Modoc, Trinity, Lake, Marin, Napa, Nevada, Sierra, Yuba, Butte, El Dorado, San Francisco

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.