FW: Boxwood Encyclopedia Released

**"* J* R* <l*@hevanet.com>**

----------
From: ARS News Service <NewsService@ars.usda.gov>
Reply-To: ARS News Service <NewsService@ars.usda.gov>
Date: Fri, 04 Jun 2004 08:14:53 -0400
To: ARS News subscriber <lonrom@hevanet.com>
Subject: Boxwood Encyclopedia Released

STORY LEAD:
Arboretum Scientist Releases Boxwood Encyclopedia
___________________________________________

ARS News Service
Agricultural Research Service, USDA
Alfredo Flores, (301) 504-1627, aflores@ars.usda.gov
June 4, 2004
___________________________________________

It took U.S. National Arboretum horticulturalist Lynn Batdorf nearly 20
years, six trips to Europe and countless visits to nurseries throughout the
United States to gather information to complete "Boxwood: An Illustrated
Encyclopedia." But now Batdorf can take pride in publishing the world's
first authoritative guide to these beautiful evergreen, shrublike small
trees. 

The U.S. National Arboretum is operated by the Agricultural Research
Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research
agency.

As keynote speaker, Batdorf will discuss his new illustrated encyclopedia
today at the annual general meeting of the European Boxwood and Topiary
Society, which is being  held June 4-6 in Windsor, England.

The boxwood encyclopedia comprises 343 pages, with 340 color photographs. It
contains information on the size, hardiness, habitat, leaf shape, stem
characteristics, annual growth, cultivar environments, pests, landscape use,
history and nursery and common names for more than 780 cultivars.

Batdorf has served as the International Cultivar Registration Authority
since 1985, and also authored "Boxwood Handbook: A Practical Guide to
Knowing and Growing Boxwood." That 99-page color book, published in 1995,
has been considered one of the best references available on boxwood.

The arboretum's National Boxwood Collection, for which Batdorf has served as
curator since 1977, is one of the world's most complete collections of
boxwood, with about 150 different species and cultivars. Some of the
cultivars have blue-green leaves, while others have leaves with splashes of
cream or yellow. Some are dwarf and mature at a height of less than two
feet. These represent just some of the diversity found in the arboretum's
collection of boxwood, a perfect plant for framing anything from an herb
garden to a garden maze. Boxwood plantings can be found on the grounds of
some of the world's most famous residences, including the White House
garden.

The boxwood encyclopedia is now available through the American Boxwood
Society, on the World Wide Web at:

http://www.boxwoodsociety.org
___________________________________________

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