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.
This is the most common antelope of the bushveld regions of South Africa. A very graceful, rufous-fawn antelope, with white underparts, measuring approximately 900 mm at the shoulders. Rams weigh around 60 Kg and ewes 40 Kg. A black stripe extends from the top of the rump down the back of each thigh. The lower hind legs have glands beneath tufts of black hair. Only the rams have horns which are lyre-shaped, and reach a length of 700 mm.
The Pretoria National Botanical Garden, located in the suburb of Brummeria in east Tshwane, was established in 1946 after the University of Pretoria’s experimental farm and private properties were acquired by the Department of Agriculture. The garden was formerly known as the Transvaal National Botanic Gardens, and was primarily a research facility under the management of the Botanical Research Institute, which dates back to 1903.
