天竺屬之類緣與木材解剖

Phylogeny and Wood Anatomy of Nandia

Nandina is a monotypic genus of great botanical interest. Its only species, Nandina domestica Thunb. is an upright shrub of central China. It is commonly cultivated in China, known as Tien-chu (天竺) or Heavenly bamboo, and is chiefly valued for its evergreen graceful foliage and its large panicle of bright red fruits. Taxonomically it is of disputable position. It is generally included in the Berberidaceae. Aside from a few herbaceous genera, such as Podophyllum, Jeffersonia, Diphylleia, Achlys, the only woody genera of the family are Berberis, Mahonia, and Nandina. These genera are sometimes considered as constituting two subfamilies: Podophylloideae which comprise the above mentioned herbaceous genera and Berberioideae, which comprise Berberis, Mahonia, Nandina as well as other herbaceous genera like Epimedium and Leontice (Rendle 1925). The two subfamilies are considered by some authers as representing distinct families (Kumazawa 1930, 1938).