Nandina

Appearance

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

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 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 panicles axillary or terminal erect with numerous flowers hermaphrodite with numerous ovate-oblong sepals of pinkish white color and spirally imbricated and 6 oblong petals of 4 by 2.5 mm, white, patent at the beginning. The flowers are white, 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.

Naming

"Nandina" is derived from the Japanese name, "nanten". "Domestica" means 'domesticated', or 'of the household'.

"Nandina" is considered invasive in North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida. 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. In general, the purchase or continued cultivation of non-sterile varieties in the southeastern United States is discouraged.

Nandina 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.

Although grown extensively in Texas because of its tolerance for dry conditions, fruiting varieties of "Nandina" are considered invasive there. 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.

Status

"Nandina" is considered invasive in North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida. 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. In general, the purchase or continued cultivation of non-sterile varieties in the southeastern United States is discouraged.

Nandina 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.

Although grown extensively in Texas because of its tolerance for dry conditions, fruiting varieties of "Nandina" are considered invasive there. 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.

Defense

All parts of the plant are poisonous, containing compounds that decompose to produce hydrogen cyanide, and could be fatal if ingested. The plant is placed in Toxicity Category 4, the category "generally considered non-toxic to humans", but the berries are considered toxic to cats and grazing animals. Excessive consumption of the berries will kill birds such as cedar waxwings, because they are subject to cyanide toxicosis, resulting in death to multiple individuals at one time.

The berries also contain alkaloids such as nantenine, which is used in scientific research as an antidote to MDMA.

Evolution

"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. The English, 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 −10 to 110 °F. It generally needs no pruning, but can spread via underground runners and can be difficult to remove.

Nandina is extremely toxic to birds and animals. Spent berry stalks can easily be snapped off by hand in spring. Due to the naturally occurring phytochemicals this plant is commonly used in rabbit, deer, and javelina resistant landscape plantings.