matplotlib
diff --git a/‎doc/users/next_whats_new/boxplot_legend_support.rst
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+5-4Lines changed: 5 additions & 4 deletions b/‎doc/users/next_whats_new/boxplot_legend_support.rst
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+5-4Lines changed: 5 additions & 4 deletions
diff --git a/‎lib/matplotlib/axes/_axes.py
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+12-6Lines changed: 12 additions & 6 deletions b/‎lib/matplotlib/axes/_axes.py
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+12-6Lines changed: 12 additions & 6 deletions
diff --git a/‎lib/matplotlib/tests/test_legend.py
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+17-11Lines changed: 17 additions & 11 deletions b/‎lib/matplotlib/tests/test_legend.py
Copy file name to clipboardExpand all lines: lib/matplotlib/tests/test_legend.py
+17-11Lines changed: 17 additions & 11 deletions
@@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
 Legend support for Boxplot
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-Boxplots now generate legend entries and can be labelled with the
-new *label* parameter. If a patch is passed to the box with ``patch_artist=True``,
-the legend gets its handle from the patch instead of the `.Line2D` object from
-the medians.
+Boxplots now support a *label* parameter to create legend entries.
+Legend labels can be passed as a string to each individual boxplot
+or as a list of strings to label multiple boxes in a single
+boxplot call.
+
 
 .. plot::
     :include-source: true
 
@@ -4409,15 +4409,21 @@ def do_patch(xs, ys, **kwargs):
         # Set legend labels
         if label:
             box_or_med = boxes if showbox else medians
-            if len(box_or_med) == len(label):
-                for index, element in enumerate(box_or_med):
-                    if cbook.is_scalar_or_string(label):
+            for index, element in enumerate(box_or_med):
+                if cbook.is_scalar_or_string(label):
+                    # If there are multiple boxes, the label
+                    # should only be applied to the first box.
+                    if len(box_or_med) > len(label):
                         element.set_label(label)
+                        break
                     else:
+                        element.set_label(label)
+                else:  # label is a sequence
+                    if len(box_or_med) == len(label):
                         element.set_label(label[index])
-            else:
-                raise ValueError("There must be an equal number of labels "
-                                 "and plots.")
+                    else:
+                        raise ValueError("There must be an equal number of legend"
+                                         " labels and boxplots.")
 
         if manage_ticks:
             axis_name = "x" if vert else "y"
 
@@ -1453,29 +1453,35 @@ def test_boxplot_labels():
 
 
 def test_boxplot_legend_labels():
-    # Test that legend entries are generated from boxplots. `label` is the new
-    # parameter for setting legend labels.
+    # Test that legend entries are generated when passing `label`.
     np.random.seed(19680801)
     data = np.random.random((10, 4))
-    fig, axs = plt.subplots(nrows=1, ncols=3)
+    fig, axs = plt.subplots(nrows=1, ncols=4)
+    legend_labels = ['A', 'B', 'C', 'D']
 
     # Testing legend labels and patch passed to legend.
-    bp1 = axs[0].boxplot(data, patch_artist=True, label=['A', 'B', 'C', 'D'])
+    bp1 = axs[0].boxplot(data, patch_artist=True, label=legend_labels)
     for i, v in enumerate(bp1['boxes']):
-        assert v.get_label() == ['A', 'B', 'C', 'D'][i]
+        assert v.get_label() == legend_labels[i]
     handles, labels = axs[0].get_legend_handles_labels()
-    assert labels == ['A', 'B', 'C', 'D']
+    assert labels == legend_labels
     assert all(isinstance(h, mpl.patches.PathPatch) for h in handles)
 
     # Testing legend without `box`.
-    bp2 = axs[1].boxplot(data, label=['A', 'B', 'C', 'D'], showbox=False)
+    bp2 = axs[1].boxplot(data, label=legend_labels, showbox=False)
     # Without a box, The legend entries should be passed from the medians.
     for i, v in enumerate(bp2['medians']):
-        assert v.get_label() == ['A', 'B', 'C', 'D'][i]
+        assert v.get_label() == legend_labels[i]
     handles, labels = axs[1].get_legend_handles_labels()
-    assert labels == ['A', 'B', 'C', 'D']
+    assert labels == legend_labels
     assert all(isinstance(h, mpl.lines.Line2D) for h in handles)
 
-    # Testing legend with an odd number of labels set.
+    # Testing legend with number of labels different from number of boxes.
     with pytest.raises(ValueError, match='There must be an equal number'):
-        bp3 = axs[2].boxplot(data, patch_artist=True, label=['A', 'B', 'C'])
+        bp3 = axs[2].boxplot(data, label=legend_labels[:-1])
+
+    # Of 3 identical boxes, test that only the first box gets a label.
+    new_data = np.random.random((100, 3))
+    bp4 = axs[3].boxplot(new_data, label='A')
+    assert bp4['boxes'][0].get_label() == 'A' and all(x.get_label() != 'A'
+                                                      for x in bp4['boxes'][1:])