Characteristics of Sacred Bamboo (Nandina domestica) in the Wild

Sacred bamboo or Heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica) is a species of flowering plant in the family Berberidaceae, native to East Asia from the Himalayas to Japan. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Nandina.

Sacred bamboo is widely grown in gardens as an ornamental plant with several cultivars displaying bright red fall foliage in winter and attractive new foliage growth in spring.

Even though it has the common names “sacred bamboo” and “heavenly bamboo” this is not a real bamboo tree but a bush.

 

 

More than 65 cultivars have been named in Japan, where the species is very popular and there is a national Nandina society.

Here are some popular cultivars of this plant:

• Nandina domestica ‘Blush’
• Nandina domestica ‘Fire Power’
• Nandina domestica ‘Lemon Lime’
• Nandina domestica ‘Moon Bay’
• Nandina domestica ‘Moyer’s Red’
• Nandina domestica ‘Nana’
• Nandina domestica ‘Obsession’
• Nandina domestica ‘Royal Princess’
• Nandina domestica ‘Sienna Sunrise’

 

Characteristics of Sacred Bamboo Leaf

The leaves are compound, two or three pinnate, each leaf measuring 4-11 cm long and 0.5-2 cm wide, elliptical to ovate or lanceolate, shiny, petiole swollen at the base, sometimes falling in areas colder.

Young leaves in spring are bright pink to red before turning green. Old leaves turn red or purple again before falling off in winter.
 

Characteristics of Sacred Bamboo Flower

The inflorescences are panicles that emerge from the leaf axils with many hermaphroditic flowers. There are several ovate-oval sepals with a pinkish-white color and six oval white petals, each measuring 4×2.5 mm. The flowers appear in early summer in cone-shaped clusters located at the tips of the branches.
 

Characteristics of Sacred Bamboo Fruit

The fruit is a bright red berry, 5-10 mm in diameter, and ripens in late autumn.
 

Characteristics of Sacred Bamboo Tree

Sacred bamboo is a shrub that reaches 2 meters high and 1.5 meters wide, with many stems.

This plant can be grown in USDA hardiness zones 6-10 with some cultivars hardy in USDA zone 5. Nandina is heat and cold-tolerant, from -23 to 43 °C.

Nandina domestica is considered invasive in North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida. This plant is placed on the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council’s invasive list as a Category I species, the highest on the list. In general, the purchase or continued cultivation of non-sterile varieties in the southeastern United States is not recommended.

The plant has also become invasive in wild areas far north, and in May 2017 it was added to Maryland’s invasive plant list with tier 2 status.

Although widely planted in Texas for its tolerance to dry conditions, the fruiting Nandina variety is considered invasive there. This is primarily caused by birds spreading seeds into natural areas where Nandina breeds and crowding out native species, either through seeding or through underground growth of rhizomatous stems.
 

Benefits of Sacred Bamboo Tree

Nandina domestica is traded as an ornamental potted plant and a complementary landscape plant because of its beautiful leaf color. It is also used as a bonsai subject by bonsai artists in Asia and the United States.

In Shanghai, nandina berry spray is sold on the streets at New Year, to decorate home altars and temples.