"I just came across this term marking a line point on 2 adjoining plats..."small bastard box"" Polygala chambuxus is native to European mountain areas. In the UK it is sometimes found as a garden plant, called "ground box" - understandably, since it only grows about 6" high. More likely as a boundary marker is the false box or false boxwood, Cynoxylon floridum, known these days as flowering dogwood - easily recognised, and native to your area. The moral is never trust the OED!