nandina

[ nan-dahy-nuh, -dee-nuh ]

noun

1. a Chinese and Japanese evergreen shrub, Nandina domestica, of the barberry family, having pinnate leaves and bright red berries, cultivated as an ornamental.

Word History and Origins

Origin of nandina¹

< New Latin (1781), the genus name < Japanese dialect nanden, Japanese nanten < Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese nántiān ( zhú ); nán south + tiān heaven + zhú bamboo; -a ²

Example Sentences

“Some plants, like heather, blue fescue, lavender, nandina and ceanothus, tend to not be long lived in an urban landscape,” Goetz observes.

From Seattle Times

Skirting the stems of the dogwood with the dwarf nandina provides contrasting form while fanning the flames of the color study.

From Seattle Times

Nandina domestica ‘Firepower’ is a compact form of heavenly bamboo that forms a mounded 2-by-2-foot tuffet of slightly puckered evergreen foliage.

From Seattle Times

The familiar workhorses of the birds’ berry buffet, like Pyracantha and holly, mountain ash and Nandina, are all pretty enough.

From Seattle Times

My grandmother talked about her roses, her nandina, her gardenia, her voice thick southern prose.

From New York Times