nandina

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Despite the common name "sacred bamboo", it is not a bamboo but an erect evergreen shrub up to {{convert|2|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} tall by {{convert|1.5|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} wide, with numerous, usually unbranched stems growing from ground level. The glossy leaves are sometimes deciduous in colder areas, {{convert|50|-|100|cm|0|abbr=on}} long, bi- or tri-pinnately compound, with the individual leaflets {{convert|4|-|11|cm|0|abbr=on}} long and 1.5–3 cm broad.

File:2021-06-22 17 24 35 Heavenly Bamboo flowers along Franklin Farm Road in the Franklin Farm section of Oak Hill, Fairfax County, Virginia.jpg

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The young leaves in spring are brightly coloured pink to red before turning green; old leaves turn red or purple again before falling. Its petiolate leaves are 50–100 cm long, compound (two or three pinnacles) with leaflets, elliptical to ovate or lanceolate and of entire margins, 2–10 cm long by 0.5–2 cm wide, with petioles swollen at their bases.

The inflorescences are axillary or terminally erect panicles with numerous hermaphrodite flowers. There are several ovate-oblong sepals of a pinkish white color, and six oblong white petals, each 4 by 2.5 mm. The flowers are borne in early summer in conical clusters held well above the foliage. The fruit is a bright red berry, 5–10 mm diameter, ripening in late autumn and often persisting through the winter.

File:Nandina domestica cv Otafukunanten.jpg

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File:Sacred bamboo in Longwell Green.jpg

N. domestica, grown in Chinese and Japanese gardens for centuries, was brought to Western gardens by William Kerr, who sent it to London in his first consignment from Canton, in 1804.Alice M. Coats, Garden Shrubs and Their Histories (1964) 1992, s.v. "Nandina". English breeders, unsure of its hardiness, kept it in greenhouses at first. The scientific name given to it by Carl Peter Thunberg is a Latinized version of a Japanese name for the plant, nan-ten. Over 65 cultivars have been named in Japan, where the species is particularly popular and a national Nandina society exists. In Shanghai berried sprays of nandina are sold in the streets at New Year, for the decoration of house altars and temples.

Nandina does not berry profusely in Great Britain, but it can be grown in USDA hardiness zones 6–10 with some cultivars hardy into zone 5. Nandina can take heat and cold, from {{convert|-10| to |110|F|C|abbr=on}}. It generally needs no pruning, but can spread via underground runners and can be difficult to remove.

Nandina is extremely toxic to birds[https://www.thetimesnews.com/article/20141128/Business/311289868 "Why birds don't eat nandina berries"] by Rett Davis, The Times News, 28 November 2014. and mammals.[https://ar.audubon.org/news/nandina-berries-kill-birds "Nandina Berries Kill Birds Popular garden shrub berries are toxic to birds and other animals"], by Jerry W. Davis, Audubon Arkansas, 28 January 2016. Spent berry stalks can easily be snapped off by hand in spring. Due to the naturally occurring phytochemicals (see above) this plant is commonly used in rabbit, deer, and javelina resistant landscape plantings.

These are some of the popular cultivars of this plant:

• Blush – Slightly smaller than the above, it produces red new growth in spring and autumn, and in winter months it turns vivid red.[https://www.ozbreed.com.au/plant-ranges/hardy-exotic-range/blush-nandina-is-a-low-shrub-with-red-growth-for-most-of-the-year-hardy-exotic-range/ Blush™ Nandina domestica]
• Fire Power – Height of 2 to 2 1/2 feet tall, is so-named for its impressive red fall and winter foliage.[https://homeguides.sfgate.com/different-types-nandina-shrubs-42890.html What Are the Different Types of Nandina Shrubs?]
• Gulfstream – Reaching 3 feet wide and 3 to 3 1/2 feet tall, it features narrow, diamond-shaped leaves which are orange-tinted and coppery when young that develop to turquoise in summer, then turn orange-red in fall.
• Lemon Lime – Yellowish green spring foliage that transforms to chartreuse in summer.
• Moon Bay – Dense and upright reaching 1m, its diamond-shaped leaves (which are similar to Gulfstream) change seasonally from lime green, red, apricot and burgundy.{{efn|[https://www.plantmark.com.au/nandina-moon-bay-14cm Nandina Moon Bay 14cm]}}
• Moyer's Red – A semi dwarf type that grows 4 to 6 feet tall that features light-pink flowers.{{efn|[https://plantlust.com/plants/10916/nandina-domestica-moyers-red/ Nandina domestica 'Moyer's Red']}}
• Nana – A dwarf variety suited for a low hedge, it features foliage that turns into lime green to crimson red and scarlet-bronze tones in the cooler months.{{efn|[https://www.australianplantsonline.com.au/nandina-domestica-nana-sacred-bamboo.html Nandina Nana]}}
• Obsession – Related to the above, it grows 2 to 2 1/2 feet tall and wide and features scarlet spring and fall foliage.
• Richmond – 1–1.5 metres tall. In summer, it bears panicles of white flowers followed by bright-red berries in winter.{{Cite web |title=Nandina domestica 'Richmond' {{!}} heavenly bamboo 'Richmond' Shrubs/RHS |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/93938/nandina-domestica-richmond/details |access-date=2025-03-15 |website=www.rhs.org.uk |language=en-gb}}
• Royal Princess – Reaching up to 8 feet tall, this displays blush-coloured blooms.
• Sienna Sunrise – Growing 3–4 feet tall, it features glaring red foliage with red highlights in fall.

All parts of the plant are poisonous, containing compounds that decomposeAbrol, Y. P.; Conn, E. E.; Stoker, J. R. (1966) “Studies on the identification, biosynthesis and metabolism of a cyanogenic glucoside in Nandina domestica Thunb.”. Phytochemistry 5(5):1021–1027 doi:10.1016/S0031-9422(00)82800-9Olechno, J. D.; Poulton, J. E.; Conn, E. E. “Nandinin: An acylated free cyanohydrin from Nandina domestica”. (1984) Phytochemistry 23(8):1784–1785 doi:10.1016/S0031-9422(00)83491-3 to produce hydrogen cyanide, and could be fatal if ingested. The plant is generally considered non-toxic to humans, but the berries are considered toxic to cats and grazing animals.{{cite web|title=North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension Service Poisonous Plants of North Carolina|url=http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/Nandido.htm|access-date=2 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111235311/http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/Nandido.htm|archive-date=11 November 2013|url-status=dead}} Excessive consumption of the berries will kill birds such as cedar waxwings,{{Cite journal |title=Feeding Behavior-Related Toxicity due to Nandina domestica in Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) |last1=Woldemeskel |first1=Moges |last2=Styer |first2=Eloise L. |date=2010 |journal=Veterinary Medicine International |volume=2010 |page=818159 |language=en |doi=10.4061/2010/818159 |pmc=3005831 |pmid=21197466 |doi-access=free }} because they are subject to cyanide toxicosis, resulting in death to multiple individuals at one time.{{Cite web|url=http://www.decaturish.com/2017/03/invasive-bushes-in-decatur-killing-cedar-waxwings/|title=Invasive bushes in Decatur killing cedar waxwings|date=3 March 2017}}

The berries also contain alkaloids such as nantenine, which is used in scientific research as an antidote to MDMA (ecstasy).{{cite journal |vauthors=Fantegrossi WE, Kiessel CL, Leach PT, Van Martin C, Karabenick RL, Chen X, Ohizumi Y, Ullrich T, Rice KC, Woods JH |title=Nantenine: an antagonist of the behavioral and physiological effects of MDMA in mice |journal=Psychopharmacology |volume=173 |issue=3–4 |pages=270–7 |date=May 2004 |pmid=14740148 |doi=10.1007/s00213-003-1741-2 |hdl=2027.42/46360 |s2cid=8425621 |url=https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/46360/1/213_2003_Article_1741.pdf |hdl-access=free }}{{cite journal |vauthors=Chaudhary S, Pecic S, Legendre O, Navarro HA, Harding WW |title=(+/-)-Nantenine analogs as antagonists at human 5-HT(2A) receptors: C1 and flexible congeners |journal=Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters |volume=19 |issue=9 |pages=2530–2 |date=May 2009 |pmid=19328689 |doi=10.1016/j.bmcl.2009.03.048 |pmc=2677726}}

Nandina is considered invasive in Texas, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida.{{Cite web |url=http://www.tneppc.org/invasive_plants/103 |title=Tneppc |access-date=31 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223062350/http://www.tneppc.org/invasive_plants/103 |archive-date=23 December 2016 |url-status=dead }} It was placed on the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council's invasive list as a Category I species, the highest listing. It has been observed in the wild in Florida in Gadsden, Leon, Jackson, Alachua and Citrus counties, in conservation areas, woodlands and floodplains.{{cite web |url=http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/node/281 |title=Nandina |publisher=Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants, University of Florida |access-date=24 December 2010}} In general, the purchase or continued cultivation of non-sterile varieties in the southeastern United States is discouraged.

It is also becoming invasive in wild areas farther north, and in May 2017 was added to the Maryland invasive plant list with a tier 2 status.{{cite web |url=http://mda.maryland.gov/plants-pests/Pages/maryland_invasive_plants_prevention_and_control.aspx |title=Maryland Invasive Plants Prevention and Control |publisher=Maryland Department of Agriculture, Maryland Department of Agriculture |access-date=23 May 2017}}

Although grown extensively in Texas because of its tolerance for dry conditions, fruiting varieties of Nandina are considered invasive there.{{Cite web|url=http://www.texasinvasives.org/plant_database/detail.php?symbol=NADO|title = Texas Invasives}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.wildflower.org/expert/show.php?id=5184|title = Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - the University of Texas at Austin}} This is primarily due to birds spreading seeds into natural areas where Nandina proliferates and crowds out native species, both through seeding and by the growth of rhizomatous underground stems.

File:Nandina Blooms.jpg|Flowers

File:(MAD) N. domestica - fl - 03.jpg|Flower

File:(MAD) N. domestica - fr - 06.jpg|Fruits

File:Ranunculales - Nandina domestica 2.jpg|Fruiting shrub

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File:Nandina domestica fire power A.jpg|'Fire power' cultivar in a hedge setting

File:Nandina domestica leaves.JPG|A cultivar in South Korea

File:Nandina domestica Gulf Stream 3zz.jpg|'Gulf Stream' cultivar with diamond-shaped leaflets

File:Nandina domestica-Clapiers-4050~2015 03 29.JPG|Seedling, with two green cotyledons, and a first red-green leaf

File:2021-06-22 18 26 54 Heavenly Bamboo flowers and fruit along Thompson Road in the Franklin Glen section of Chantilly, Fairfax County, Virginia.jpg|Flowers and fruit

File:Nandina domestica 'Richmond' in Brest.jpg|Nandina domestica 'Richmond' in Conservatoire botanique national de Brest

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{{Reflist}}

{{Commons|Nandina domestica|Nandina domestica}}

• Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening 3: 284–285. Macmillan.
• [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=200008408 Flora of North America: Nandina domestica] (deals with the species as an introduced plant)
• [http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Nandina+domestica Nandina domestica database]
• [https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/nandina-domestica/ Nandina domestica information]
• [https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/profile/sacred-bamboo Species Profile - Sacred Bamboo (Nandina domestica)], National Invasive Species Information Center, United States National Agricultural Library
• [http://www.brighterblooms.com/product/domestica-nandina.html Heavenly Bamboo] information and resources

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Category:Flora of Asia

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