How do I ID my shrub w/o a camera?

I think I have a boxwood shrub but I've never seen it bloom? What's the best and easiest way to make an ID? I think it may smell like cat pee-pee but I'm not 100% it's not a cat spraying the bushes. I'd love to end my confusion, but I don't have a camera to post a picture.
There isn't a point at the tip of the leaves. It's kind-of long and oval. The color is a light green(almost yellow) to green. I've never seen it bloom or even look like it was.
I've tried my best to ID it on my own, but I just get more confused. There are several kinds of boxwoods and it can be confusing:)
Thanks, Elizabeth


This message was edited Apr 3, 2009 12:21 AM

Box flowers are inconspicuous, and only produced on older plants. Photo here: http://ip30.eti.uva.nl/BIS/flora.php?selected=beschrijving&menuentry=soorten&id=3090

Resin

Why do some say the boxwood smell like cat urine and others say it doesn't? I've tried to find pictures of my shrub and every boxwood looks differently. The link you sent me looks like the leaves but then again it doesn't. You must think i'm stupid?! I appreciate all the help you are giving me on this.
Elizabeth

Maybe we could do things a bit systematically.
How big are the shrubs? Both height and width.
Are the leaves opposite or alternate?
How big are the leaves? You could even measure them with a ruler or such.
Do the leaves have teeth or lobes or are they smooth and entire?
Is the shrub evergreen or deciduous?
Does the shrub produce any noticeable fruit or berries?
What kind of texture do the leaves have? Are they thick and glossy, or are they thin and dull or ?
Do the leaves have any distinct veining or are the veins not really noticeable? In some genera the leaf veins will grow in a distinctive pattern, or by very noticeable.

Any and all detail you can give would help narrow things down.

Maybe a matter of tradition . . . I don't myself go around sniffing after cats, so not sure if real cat's pee actually smells like box or not. I've seen all sorts of other plants (and other things) also described as being "like cat's pee", and suspect it is just something that some gardening writers say when they can't think of anything better to say.

One thing for sure, box doesn't smell remotely like human pee; I'd assume cat's pee probably has a fairly similar chemical composition (and therefore similar smell) to human pee.

Resin

Resin, think human pee, but times 10 worse and add a touch of musk from a skunk or some other Weasel family animal and then you have what cat pee smells like.

kman_blue- I actually had fun looking up those questions. I had to look up a few of the words. Boy- I have alot to learn, but this is what I came up with: (they haven't been trimmed or cut this year yet, last year they weren't this full though)
Height: 41" Width 47" there are 10 bushes as far as I could see planted around 8-12" apart in a row that's around 13 ft. long.
Leaves are alternate, smooth, glossy- kind-of round/oval. No point on tip of leaf and no teeth. Leaves are right arount 1cm long. No noticeable veining. I've never seen berries or fruit.
It is evergreen ( it kept leaves during winter)
I hope I covered all the basics:) I never would have thought of all that!! Maybe that's why I have a hard time IDing plants. I wrote it all down along with difinitions I didn't know. Maybe one day it will come natural.
If I forgot or left anything out, just let me know. Thank you so much. I'm learning alot.

Resin- I've never sniffed after a cat either but I DO know what they smell like. Male cats "mark" (spray their urine in spots to let other cats know they are around) It's a very distinct and strong odor. That's the whole point of them doing that. You've never heard people say that male cats should be fixed before they start spraying? I may not know a hill of beans about some gardening(i'm learning though) but I know the odor and wouldn't say it was that if it didn't smell like it just because I couldn't "think of anything else better to say". It just might be that in different areas they smell differently- doesn't mean one is right and the other is wrong. I just asked a question to get a better understanding and to find out what kind of shrubs I have. You almost make me feel dull for asking, but I was tought that no question is a stupid one. That's how people learn. We all might learn something about the boxwood we didn't know before.

Your description, especially the size and leaf texture sure sounds like a boxwood, maybe Buxus microphylla 'Winter Gem' which has rounded glossy leaves like you describe and is very commonly sold in the US. The only problem is the leaf pattern, boxwoods have opposite leaves, so if your shrubs really do have alternate leaves then they can't be boxwoods. Can't think of what else would be a boxwood look-a-like with alternate leaves. Perhaps one of the Hollies? But they mostly have some small teeth somewhere on some of their leaves. Maybe you have Inkberry Holly (Ilex glabra)? Do the leaves look like these?

http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/i/ilegla/ilegla41.jpg

kman_blue- I looked up the Winter Gem on Ask.com and looked at pictures of them. I could only find one pic. here and it didn't look like mine. Of course, no two pictures looked the same to me. But the description sounds just like mine. I then looked up opposite and the first time I did, I thought the meaning was that the leaves were all different- and I said to myself- all the leaves look about the same. I cut a bunch of leaves off my bush from all different parts. I now see what the meaning of opposite leaves mean. I do have opposite leaves. I think it really may be Winter Gem. I couldn't find a picture that looked exactly like mine, but it depends on how they are cut and all, right? It sounds like mine right down to the color the leaves turn during Winter. I bet you are glad I figured it out. It's hard with no camera, plus I had no idea so many factors come into play when IDing a plant.
Thank you for being patient and walking me through this. I learned quite a bit of info. that will help me with the next plant, bush, or tree I want to ID. If I find out it I'm wrong and it's something else I'll let you know. Or if you think I'm wrong let me know. Thanks

Leaves of the same cultivar should look more or less the same, but your local planting conditions and which part of the plant the leaves are from can both affect how they look to some degree. Sun leaves vs. shade leaves, ones from a plant in a cold climate on the edge of it's hardiness vs. ones from a plant in a warm climate on the edge of it's heat tolerance, etc. I suggested 'Winter Gem' because it's known for it's shiny leaves and the leaves being more rounded than most other boxwoods. Other boxwoods can have shiny leaves also, but not as rounded typically. Glad to have helped out!

If you stop learning, than you either think you know more than you do, or you're dead, so keep learning! I know I am! :D

Oh my- there is so much detail to pay attention to when IDing plants. I have a 3 subject notebook for my plants. Each plant has a page I write all the info about them on. That way it's easy to "refer" to when I forget something:) (how much water,sun, etc)
My neighbor was telling me today that she has a cat peeing in her plants! So, I think the "smell" of my bushes has been solved. She said she sprayed bug spray all around her yard to deter them? I was thinking "they are cats not bugs", but what do I know:) You think that will work?

ejennings
get a native american guide to trees and plants and start botanizing your leaves, then shrubs, and
then trees, go on to leaf scars and such.

I was wondering with alternate, if its not a hardy privet?
anyone?
sher

wigglyPaw- I'm sorry, but I wasn't sure what the definition was for opposite and alternate, but my leaves are opposite. Does that make a difference? Thanks