Wood from the Mediterranean evergreen shrub Buxus sempervirens. Light yellow in color, it has a very fine and compact grain, which confers extreme hardness. Because of these characteristics, boxwood was long used for the construction of valuable scientific instruments, and is still sought today for carving work. However, as the shrub does not exceed 4-5 meters in height, the use of its wood has been confined to the production of relatively small objects such as portable sundials, instrument boxes, and mounts for eyepieces and objectives.