In the boxwood family Buxaceae is, maybe surprisingly, Pachysandra. Only about four kinds exist, and yet there is pronounced variability between them. Pachysandra can be from Asia or America, can be evergreen or deciduous, and can grow slowly or quickly. All have underground rhizomes as a means to spread.
Pachysandra terminalis, most familiar, can be helpful for leaf control, as leaves that fall in Pachysandra tend to be “smothered.” Pachysandra terminalis can also help to control weeds, as its dense foliage blocks out available light resources to weed seeds on the soil.
In his encyclopedia, The New York Botanical Garden Illustrated Encyclopedia of Horticulture, T. H. Everett writes that Pachysandra terminalis “is at best beneath and between trees and shrubs, including evergreens.” In light of this plant’s variability, we also are given two options of color: green, and variegated green and white.
Sources:
The New York Botanical Garden Illustrated Encyclopedia of Horticulture, 1981
