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Nandina domestica

Common name:	Sacred Bamboo	Family:	Berberidaceae
Author:	Thunb.	Botanical references:	11, 58, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	The fruit is poisonous[147].All parts of the plant contain toxic substances, including hydrocyanic acid and nandenine[218].
Range:	E. Asia - China, Japan and India.
Habitat:	Ravines and valleys in mountains and warmer parts of C. and S. Japan[58].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Heavenly Bamboo [H,DEN1], Nan Chu [E], Nan T'Ien Chu [E], Nandina [H], Sacred Bamboo [P], Sacred-bamboo [B],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	domestica = cultivated
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Ranunculales. Barberry family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	China Japan Us
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: USA Invasive.

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen shrub growing to 2.5m by 2m . It is hardy to zone 7 and is frost tender. It is in leaf all year, in flower from June to July. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Hedge, Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

Fruit Leaves.

Fruit[2]. No further details are given, but another report says that the fruit is poisonous[147]. The fruit is about 10mm in diameter[200].
Young leaves - boiled[177]. The water must be changed at least once during the cooking[105].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antirheumatic Antitussive Astringent Febrifuge Stomachic Tonic.

The roots and stems are antitussive, astringent, febrifuge, stomachic and tonic[147, 174]. A decoction is used in the treatment of fever in influenza, acute bronchitis, whooping cough, indigestion, acute gastro-enteritis, tooth abscess, pain in the bones and muscles and traumatic injuries[147]. It is especially useful in the treatment of children's coughs[174]. There is a danger that an overdose can cause respiratory paralysis[174].
A decoction of the leaves is tonic[218].
The fruit is febrifuge and tonic[218]. Another report says that it is toxic, so great care should be employed if using it[147].
The root is antirheumatic[218].
Young shoots contain high concentrations of laetrile - up to 20% on a zero moisture basis[218].

Other Uses

Hedge.

Plants are used for hedging in warm temperate zones[200].

Cultivation details

Requires a deep rich moist soil in a sheltered sunny position[11, 200]. Prefers a cool but sunny position[200].
A very ornamental plant, it only successful outdoors in Britain in favoured localities[1]. Grows well in &ndndndnd[59]. Tender when young[11], the shoot tips of mature plants can be damaged by hard frosts[200].
A number of named forms have been developed for their ornamental value[182]. Untidy old stems on established plants can be pruned to the base in spring[188].
Cultivated for its fruit in China and Japan[2] ( does this refer to medicinal usage?). It does not fruit freely in Britain[11].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse[113]. Stored seed should be sown as early in the year as possible in a greenhouse. Germination is often poor[200]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood 10 - 15cm long, July/August in a frame[78]. Pot up in the autumn and overwinter in a cold frame. Plant out in late spring. High percentage[78] but very slow[11].
Cuttings of mature wood, 10 - 15cm with a heel, November in a frame[78]. Plant out the following autumn[78, 200]. High percentage[78] but very slow[11].

Cultivars

'': There are some named forms for this species, but these have been developed for their ornamental value and not for their other uses. Unless you particularly require the special characteristics of any of these cultivars, we would generally recommend that you grow the natural species for its useful properties. We have, therefore, not listed the cultivars in this database[K].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.

References for the family Berberidaceae.

To be included in the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[58] Ohwi. G. Flora of Japan. (English translation) Smithsonian Institution 1965
The standard work. Brilliant, but not for the casual reader.

[59] Thurston. Trees and Shrubs in &ndndndnd.
Trees and shrubs that succeed in &ndndndnd based on the authors own observations. Good but rather dated.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[113] Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press 1987 ISBN 0942375009
A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.

[147] ? A Barefoot Doctors Manual. Running Press ISBN 0-914294-92-X
A very readable herbal from China, combining some modern methods with traditional chinese methods.

[174] Kariyone. T. Atlas of Medicinal Plants.
A good Japanese herbal.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[182] Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray 1992 ISBN 0-7195-5043-2
Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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