Heavenly Bamboo
Nandina domestica
An invasive, cane-forming shrub with finely divided leaves and persistent red fruit. Found in forests and woodlands in suburban areas, commonly planted, increasingly escaping and naturalizing. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you
Not native to Alabama. Not suggested for planting. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Height
- 3–8 feet
- Spread
- 2–5 feet
- Light
- Dappled sunlight, Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
Do not plant. Listed invasive in Alabama.
Poisonous if eaten. Berries and foliage are toxic; the fruit can harm birds. Plant caution source
Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.
Plant this instead
Choose your county to list local plants first.
- Golden St. John's-wortHypericum frondosum
Published recommendation: Tennessee Invasive Plant Council (TN-IPC)
- Shrubby St. John's-wortHypericum prolificum
Published recommendation: Tennessee Invasive Plant Council (TN-IPC)
- Oakleaf HydrangeaHydrangea quercifolia
Published recommendation: South Carolina Native Plant Society, Lowcountry Chapter
No recorded swaps for this county. Try the garden finder.
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Woody perennial
- Leaves
- Evergreen
- Bloom
- May to June
- Fruiting season
- October to November
Recorded in 48 Alabama counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 89 animals.
- Acadian FlycatcherEmpidonax virescens
- American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos
- American GoldfinchCarduelis tristis
- American KestrelFalco sparverius
- American RedstartSetophaga ruticilla
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- American WoodcockScolopax minor
- Bald EagleHaliaeetus leucocephalus
- Baltimore OrioleIcterus galbula
- Barred OwlStrix varia
- Belted KingfisherMegaceryle alcyon
- Black VultureCoragyps atratus
- Black-and-White WarblerMniotilta varia
- Black-crowned Night-heronNycticorax nycticorax
- Blue GrosbeakPasserina caerulea
- Blue JayCyanocitta cristata
- Blue-gray GnatcatcherPolioptila caerulea
- Broad-winged HawkButeo platypterus
- Brown CreeperCerthia americana
- Brown ThrasherToxostoma rufum
- Carolina ChickadeePoecile carolinensis
- Carolina WrenThryothorus ludovicianus
- Cedar WaxwingBombycilla cedrorum
- Cerulean WarblerDendroica cerulea
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Who uses this plant?
2CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
Genus host records with ranges including AL · Nandina
- Megalopyge opercularisSouthern Flannel Moth, Puss Caterpillar
- Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claimPlant details
- Family
- Berberidaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 6a–9b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to alkaline
- Flower color
- White
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Growth habit
- Several stems
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- October
- Fruit ends
- November
Choose a locally appropriate native alternative. Berries and foliage are toxic; fruit can harm birds. NC State Extension
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “May to June” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “White” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “November” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Growth habit · “Several stems” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Rapid” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Hardiness · “Zones 6a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “3–8 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
- Leaves · “Evergreen” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Dappled sunlight (shade through upper canopy all day); Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- primary_flower_color · “white” · USDA PLANTS
- Soil · “Moist” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Acidic to alkaline” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “2–5 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Recognizing it
Large leaves divide two or three times into leaflets. White flower clusters mature into red berries. Identification source
Also known as
Nandina; Sacred Bamboo
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| AL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- Alabama Invasive Plant Council list
- USDA PLANTS
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications
- NC State Extension