Nandina, heavenly bamboo or sacred bamboo, is a species of flowering plant native to eastern Asia from the Himalayas to Japan. Despite the common name, it is not a bamboo but an erect evergreen shrub. All parts of the plant are poisonous, containing compounds that decompose to produce hydrogen cyanide, and could potentially be fatal if ingested. The fruit is a bright red berry 5–10 mm diameter, ripening in late autumn and often persisting through the winter.
The red panda is dwarfed by the black-and-white giant that shares its name. These pandas typically grow to the size of a house cat, though their big, bushy tails add an additional 18 inches. The pandas use their ringed tails as wraparound blankets in the chilly mountain heights.
The common name glasswort came into use in the 16th century to describe plants growing in England whose ashes could be used for making soda-based (as opposed to potash-based) glass. The glassworts are succulent, annual halophytes, or plants that thrive in saline environments, such as seacoasts and salt marshes.
