My parents once told me that my name was taken from a plant's name Nandina Domestica. There's no special meaning behind the name, I knew that. But they wish that I grew up, blossoming beautifuly just like the flower. ;) Anyway, since now I'm on the epitome of boredom, I surfed the internet and found this interesting article about my 'origin'. It's nice to know about it and now I kinda love my name :")
Heavenly Bamboo, Nanten or Common Nandina
"When snow is white on moat & tree
& crusts each bamboo feather,
My Yuki lifts her eyes to me,--
'Tis all I know of weather."
-from
"Yuki" Mary
McNeil Fenollosa (fl. 1890s
Nandina
domestica is the only species within its genus. It has bamboo-like
leaves so is commonly called Heavenly Bamboo or Sacred Bamboo, though it is
related to barberries.
We have two distinct varieties.
The one shown on the present page is "plain" or wild nandina, with
rather pale green evergreen leaves that become dark green as the year
progresses. Its partner is a named cultivar called
'Monum'
or "Plum Passion," which has
purple young leaves that age to green then turn purple again in autumn. It will
bloom as happily in shade as it will in full sun, but for the leaf colors to be
most exciting, it should have some sun. In shade it has more of a tendency to
become leafless on the lower portion, but in the main it is adaptable for a
wide range of gardening conditions. In full sun it is leafy top to bottom.
The unnamed or natural specimen lacks 'Monum's'
colorfully plum-purple spring leaves, but it can be nearly as colorful as
'Monum' for its late autumn colors. Furthermore, our plain specimen, during
droughty summer in full sun, becomes interestingly sunburnt, as in the third
& fifth photos from July (2005). Some of the pale green leaves turn bright
carmine almost as though they've been unevenly painted.
Leaves that take on this color do not change
back, but will eventually be replaced by new leaves. Not many specimens do
this, & none do it in shadier locations; environmental conditions & the
shrub's strain & temperatures & degree of sun & moisture all make
nandina performances highly individualistic. The 'Monum' growing immediately
beside the wild form nandina is in identical conditions but never gets this
intensely carmine leaf.
Two varieties are required to
obtain good fruiting. The regular wild nandina as shown in the first photo in
June (2003) showing the hard buds of a flower panicle. These buds open a few at
a time through the month to follow. Cross-pollinated by 'Monum,' the wild
nandina very slowly develops berries. The same panicle is shown in the second
photo in November, the leaves having darkened & the berries ripened to
bright red. There are more portraits of the fruit on the
Nandina
page of the Winter Berries Gallery.
There is usually a second flowering in
September/October, which may not be successfully pollinated, so the later
panicles dry out on the shrub & remain very decorative. Right into the
following spring, there'll be bud-panicles & red-berries side-by-side upon
the shrub. If clipped for bouquets, well dried autumn/winter panicals (with or
without maturing berries on them) last indefinitely for flower arranging.
Because it has sacred associations, &
because nandina will have unpollinated flowers throughout winter, or sprays of
red berries, it is a shrub identified with Chinese Kitchen Day. This
"pre-New Year" Taoist holiday falls on December 23. The kitchen &
dining area are decorated with cuttings of nandina leaves, fruits, &
flowers, or winter-forced narcissi, & there is a family reunion dinner is
held after sundown. Offerings of sweets, soybeans, water, or grass (for the
Kitchen God's horse) are presented to the Kitchen God, who sits most of the
year in a little shrine in the kitchen. Such offerings & prayers are made
by the male head of household, in accordance with the saying, "Men do not
worship the Moon, & women do not make offerings to the Kitchen God."
On December 24, the Kitchen God who sits in a
little shrine in the kitchen will be put away, for that is the day the Kitchen
God rides his horse to the Celestial Palace in order to present a report to the
Jade Emperor on the family's deeds & conditions. The house is cleaned
during his absence, then he is restored ot his little shrine on December 30,
the day when all the gods & ancestors come to earth to party with mortals.
At New Year's close, paper palanquins & paper horses are burned to symbolize
the gods returning to heaven, & three small cups of liquor are sprinkled
around.
For this holiday, nandina
branches with berries hold a position very similar to berried branches of
holly for Christmas in the west. In Japan as well as China
Nandina symbolizes sacred celebration. Therefore a few leaves with or without
berries will frequently be used as a decorative garnish on dishes identified as
of celebratory significance, though the berries are mildly toxic & are not
eaten.
In Chinese Nandina means "south
heaven," because of its association with the lucky gods. Written in
Japanese kanji script, it means "hardship reversal." So nandina is
also a typical gift for a new homeowner as a symbol of joyful good luck for the
newly established household.
Any sacred plant will inevitably be used as a
medicinal herb, with or without known efficacy, for to use it is like a prayer.
The berries are so mildly toxic that it is probably a harmless superstitious
practice to use them as pills, though it is not recommendable to the
unfaithful. The dried berries are used for cough in traditional Chinese
medicine, & tonics derived from the bark & the root-bark are used for
eye conditions, flu, muscle pain, rheumetism, fever, & gastrointestinal
illness. Doubleblind studies to substantiate or debunk the essentially
religious use of nandina has as yet provided nothing conclusive. Its use should
in any case be restricted because of its known toxicity, & it may be
especially harmful for pregnant mothers. Extracts with excessive use can cause
respiratory shut-down with attendant risk of death.
It is not out of the question that some
medicinal benefit may be had from Heavenly Bamboo's major alkaloid components,
including nantenine. A 2002 study conducted by Indra et al of the Department of
Molecular Biology, Tohoku University, showed an ability of nantenine to block
chemically induced head-twitching behavior in mice. Its potential benefits or
harmful side-effects with human use are as yet poorly documented, but it is a
credible hypothesis that its sundry alkaloids & flavanoids would be as useful
as those from many other barberry-family shrubs.
As to care, Heavenly Bamboo adapts to any
acidic soil condition, & prefers continuous moisture but when established
will tolerate intermitant periods of drought without complaint. It is not prone
to disease or insect attack, & in temperate zones is low maintenance.
Grown in colder zones, it is deciduous where
winters fall to ten degrees Fahrenheit, & a die-back perennial where
temperatures fall to zero. It is strongly evergreen on Puget Sound (zone 8). It
likes a bit of shade but tolerates full sun on Puget Sound; inland it might not
tolerate full sun, but would prefer partial sun to bright shade.
It may after a few years begin to sucker a bit.
Suckers can be clipped away to preserve a single trunk, or encouraged in order
to correct the shrub's tendency to be less leafy underneath. The dwarf
varieties excepted, Nandina left to itself will eventually reach ten feet tall,
but if skillfully pruned can be kept smaller & more compact. If grown in
shade, they will be leggier & leafless toward the bottom, but still fruit
& flower well; in a sunnier spot they will be more broadly bushy.
Source <http://www.paghat.com/nandina2.html> ** #Disclaimer I'm not the author for the above article
Kamis, 31 Mei 2012 lalu saya dan teman2 pre-attend outing ke Lombok selama 2 hari. Kamis pagi, kami berangkat ke Bali dulu (supaya bisa di-reimburse ke perusahaan) trus ke Padang Bay naik speed boat ke Gili Trawangan. Sampai disana jam 1 siang, kami langsung ke Drupadi Villa, jalan-jalan ke pantai, makan, istirahat di villa. Malamnya kami keluar lagi cari makan, sambil jalan2 liat suasana Gili malam hari.
Hari kedua. Setelah sarapan gratis, kami bersiap snorkeling di dekat gili meno dan gili air. Pemandangan bawah lautnya oke banget. Kami melihat situs kapal karam di perairan gili meno, dan penyu di sekitar perairan gili air. Kalau boleh jujur, anemon laut dan karang di Karimun Jawa lebih warna-warni dan lebih beragam dibanding di Gili, tapi dua-duanya bagus kok. Saya benar-benar bersyukur diberi kesempatan melihat keindahan bawah laut Indonesia. Subhanallah.
Setelah snorkeling, kami pun makan siang di gili air lalu pulang ke villa untuk mandi dan istirahat. Sorenya, kami hunting sunset dengan naik sepeda, lalu makan malam di alun-alun pulau gili trawangan. Keesokan paginya, jam setengah 11 kami pun meninggalkan gili, dan melanjutkan perjalanan ke Bali.
