Winter beauty

This time of year one plant stands out conspicuously in our horticultural plantings about town. In local nurseries it's called nandina, also known as heavenly bamboo. It has evergreen stems and leaves and bright red, round berries in conspicuous clusters at the top. It is commonly planted as an ornamental throughout Eureka Springs.

The plant is Nandina domestica, a semi-evergreen member of the barberry family with shiny jointed stems superficially resembling bamboo. Native to East Asia, it has been grown as an ornamental in Japan for at least 1,200 years. The genus name Nandina derives from the ancient Japanese name nanten, which itself comes from the Chinese nan-tian-zhu, meaning southern heavenly bamboo. First introduced into English horticulture in 1804, it does very well in our mid-continent climate.

Heavenly bamboo is a plant with deep traditions. In January 1849, English botanical explorer stationed in Shanghai, Robert Fortune (who famously took tea plants from China to India, thus establishing tea production on the slopes of mountains in northeast India) observed, "Large quantities of its branches are brought at this time [of year] from the country and hawked about the streets. Each of these branches is crowned with a large bunch of red berries, not very unlike those of the common holly, and, contrasted with the dark, shining leaves, are singularly ornamental. It is used chiefly in the decoration of altars, not only in temples, but also in private dwellings and in boats -- for here every house and boat has its altar."

In ancient China the woody stem was carved into a gourd-shaped charm and hung around the necks of children to ward-off whooping cough. It was planted in gardens around homes to prevent the spread of fire. In Japanese gardens it was planted next to outdoor wash basins to protect against evil influences. The woody stems have also been used in China to make chopsticks. In north China, it is commonly grown as a houseplant.

The leaves, stems and fruit all serve as minor folk medicines in Chinese tradition, usually prescribed only by an experienced practitioner because of potential toxicity of alkaloids in the fruits. It is first described in a Chinese herbal produced in the year 973.

As we enjoy the visual beauty of these red clusters of fruits through the winter months, let us remember its origins.