Nandina domestica

Sacred bamboo seeds may remain dormant in the soil seed bank for at least 1 year ([12], review by [39]), as 2 cold periods are needed to stimulate stages of embryo development [16]. It is not known if sacred bamboo seeds persist longer than a year in the soil seed bank.

Stems erect. Wood and pith bright yellow. Leaves frequently reddish tinged, 5-10 dm; petioles basally enlarged and clasping. Leaflets 9-81, nearly sessile, leaflet blades 4-11 1.5-3 cm, base cuneate, apex acuminate. Inflorescences with hundreds of flowers, 1-2 dm. Flowers fragrant, pedicellate; perianth segments imbricate, weakly 2-4-seriate. Berries 6-9 mm. Seeds mostly 2. 2 n = 20.

More info for the term: shrubs

General Sacred bamboo occupies several site types. It commonly occurs near human habitations ([20,23,26,50]), roads [19,47], or ruderal areas [14,60], and may spread from these locations into native plant communities (personal communication [33]).

Floras report sacred bamboo occupying woodlands [13,23,26,56], secondary woods [14], and sandy woods [17], as well as floodplains [14,23] or wet, disturbed hammocks [23,79]. See Habitat types and plant communities for specific descriptions of plant communities where sacred bamboo occurs.

Elevation: In the United States, sacred bamboo occurs from 0 to 2,200 feet (0-660 m) [23].

Soil: A review reports that sacred bamboo tolerates a wide range of soil characteristics but prefers moist, well-drained soil [5]. A manual to woody landscaping plants reports that sacred bamboo prefers moist, fertile soil [18]. Reports from Texas suggest that sacred bamboo prefers "reasonably rich" soil and does not thrive in sand (review by [65]), though one flora reports that it occupies sandy woods in north-central Texas [17]. Sites in northern Florida with high densities of sacred bamboo had calcareous, clay-rich, acidic sand, and/or fine sandy loam soils, with pH ranging from 4.5 to 8 [12].

Field trials in California demonstrated that sacred bamboo exhibits some degree of salt tolerance; sacred bamboo plants tolerated water with high salt concentrations when water was applied using drip irrigation, but application with a sprinkler caused chlorosis and leaf loss [78].

Topography: In Florida, sacred bamboo frequently occurs around limestone outcroppings (personal communication [43]) or rocky outcrops (personal communication [3]). It also established on wet slopes and ravines in north and north-central Florida (personal communication [41]) and slope woodlands in central Texas [55].

Climate: At sites in northern Florida with high densities of sacred bamboo, mean annual temperature ranged from 67.1 °F to 71.1 °F (19.5 °C-21.7 °C), and mean annual rainfall ranged from 1,330 mm to 1,600 mm [12].

Experiments in New Zealand with sacred bamboo cultivars 'Pygmaea' and 'Fire Power' reported frost hardiness temperatures of 18 °F (-8 °C) and lethal temperatures of 7 °F (-14 °C) [61]. A review reports that sacred bamboo foliage tolerates temperatures as low as 1 °F (-17 °C) and stem loss does not occur until -11 °F (-24 °C). Drought in northern Florida may have caused sacred bamboo to abort inflorescences [12], and cold weather in Washington, DC, top-killed ornamental plants, though they later sprouted from roots [15]. Ornamental plants in Connecticut, Ohio, and Kentucky were considered "dieback" shrubs. One ornamental plant in Louisville, Kentucky was top-killed following temperatures as low as -24 °F (-31 °C) in January but sprouted and grew 3 feet (1 m) tall by September [18].

More info for the terms: hardwood, mesic, nonnative species, swamp, xeric

Sacred bamboo occurs in several plant communities in the southeastern United States. High densities of sacred bamboo are reported in upland hardwood and upland mixed forests in northern Florida, floodplain forests in Georgia, and slope woodlands in Texas. There is little published information regarding sacred bamboo occurrence, and most information presented here is from individual observations; it is likely that sacred bamboo occurs in plant communities not described here. The following descriptions of plant communities where sacred bamboo occurs are organized by state.
Florida: Several sources describe sacred bamboo in upland hardwood forests in Florida ([12], personal communications [3,42,43]).
Sacred bamboo was frequent in undisturbed and disturbed upland hardwood forests in northern Florida. Undisturbed upland hardwood forests contained southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), southern redcedar
(Juniperus silicicola), water oak (Q. nigra), sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), spruce pine (Pinus glabra), and hickories (Carya spp.). Disturbed upland hardwood forests contained similar overstory species but had a more developed understory, including the nonnative species Chinese privet
(Ligustrum sinense), autumn-olive (Elaeagnus umbellata), and coral ardisia
(Ardisia crenata) [12].
Sacred bamboo also occurs in upland mixed forests in Florida ([12],
personal communications [3,42,64]).
Sacred bamboo occurred in high densities in disturbed upland mixed forests in northern Florida, where dominant overstory species included sweetgum, red maple (Acer rubrum), boxelder (A. negundo), water oak, swamp chestnut oak (Q. michauxii), and Carolina laurelcherry (Prunus caroliniana), with some loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) and longleaf pine (P. palustris). The forest had numerous streams and was frequently flooded [12]. In the same region, sacred bamboo
occurred sporadically with Chinese privet and glossy privet (L. lucidum) in upland mixed forest
(personal communication [3]).
Sacred bamboo also occurs in mesic hammock plant communities in Florida ([25],
personal communications [42,49]). In the north-central
panhandle of Florida, sacred bamboo was infrequent in mesic hammock plant communities with a canopy of live oak
(Q. virginiana), laurel oak (Q. laurifolia), sweetgum, white ash, pignut hickory, and southern magnolia (personal communication [49]). On the Florida panhandle, sacred
bamboo was infrequent in second-growth hammock forests dominated by Darlington oak (Q. hemisphaerica), spruce pine, and American beech (Fagus grandifolia) [25].
Managers in Florida describe sacred bamboo in a variety of other plant communities (personal communications [3,42,43,64]).
Sacred bamboo occurs in slope forest [42,43,64],
seepage slope [42], floodplain forest [3,42],
bottomland forest [64], maritime hammock [42],
and calcareous bluff plant communities [3,43] in Florida.
There are isolated invasive plant inventory records of sacred bamboo occurring in xeric hammock, sandhill, upland pine forest, and mesic flatwood plant communities [42].
Georgia: In southern Georgia, sacred bamboo was dominant
in a floodplain forest and widespread but scattered in most forested areas close to human habitations near Atlanta (personal communication [29]). Sacred bamboo also occurred
in southern mixed hardwood (or hammock) forests along riparian corridors. Species composition and dominance were highly variable, though pines (Pinus spp.), oaks (Quercus spp.), sugarberry
(Celtis laevigata), American elm (Ulmus americana), and sugar maple (A. saccharum) were characteristic species [27]. In southwestern Georgia,
sacred bamboo occurred at old home sites within the longleaf pine-pineland threeawn (Aristida stricta)
plant community [20].
Louisiana: In southeastern Louisiana, sacred bamboo occurred in a shady alluvial forest near a forested wetland (personal communication [21]).
North Carolina: Sacred bamboo occurred infrequently in
urban riparian mixed hardwood forests in central North Carolina. Dominant canopy species included American sycamore
(Platanus occidentalis), red maple (Acer rubrum), yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), sweetgum, oaks, and hickories. Many other nonnative species were present, most notably English ivy
(Hedera helix) and Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum) [72]. In south-central North Carolina, sacred bamboo occurred rarely
in ruderal habitats within longleaf pine-pineland threeawn plant communities [60].
Tennessee: In central Tennessee, sacred bamboo was scattered throughout calcareous oak-hickory-juniper (Juniperus spp.) plant communities on limestone slopes and limestone bluffs. It also occurred in urban thickets surrounding residential areas, as well as open areas (e.g., along fencerows). In eastern Tennessee near Knoxville, sacred bamboo occurred in rocky, shady forests containing acidophilic oaks and hickories, yellow-poplar, and blueberry (Vaccinium sp.) in the understory
(personal communication [21]).
Sacred bamboo was a scattered and infrequent species in the Maryville College Woods, a second-growth forest in eastern Tennessee. Community dominants included southern red oak (Q. falcata), pignut hickory (Carya glabra), mockernut hickory (C. tomentosa), yellow-poplar, black tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica),
and sugar maple, with flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) common in the understory. The forest was
considered heavily disturbed and contained many nonnative species in addition to sacred bamboo (personal communication [66]).
In Tennessee, sacred bamboo occurred in a late-successional, shaded ravine oak-hickory plant community
(personal communication [21]) and was infrequent in
"secondary growth" mixed-hardwood forests
(personal communication [24]).
Texas: Sacred bamboo established in limestone canyonlands
in central Texas, blocking sunlight to other plants in rich, diverse slope woodlands [55].
Virginia In Virginia, sacred bamboo occurred infrequently
in urban forests, with no reports of establishment in rural forests (personal communication [75]).