Sea Buckthorn seeds Hippophae rhamnoides seeds

LATIN NAME: HIPPOPHAE RHAMNOIDES

COMMON NAME: Sea Buckthorn, Sallow Thorn

The Hippophae rhamnoides, or sea buckthorn, is one of the most useful and hardy of the berry shrubs, and its silvery, narrow leaves, its bright-orange, nutrient-rich berries which cling to the branches through the winter and its tolerance of the poor soil and the coastal conditions have made it a plant of the sandy coasts and the cold regions across the Eurasia. It grows as a dense, spiny, deciduous shrub or a small tree of the oleaster family, reaching up to six metres or more, with the silvery, narrow, alternate leaves and the spiny, branching stems, and bearing, in the spring, the small, yellow-green flowers on the separate male and the female plants, followed by the bright-orange, round, nutrient-rich berries on the female plants which persist through the winter. It is a species of the flowering shrub, native to the sandy coasts and the cold regions of the Eurasia, while it has been cultivated for its berries and its soil-stabilizing ability, and it is known as the sea buckthorn or the sallow thorn.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The sea buckthorn has a real and distinguished place in research. It has been studied in the food science and the nutrition, since the Hippophae rhamnoides produces the bright-orange berries which are rich in the vitamin C, the vitamin E, the carotenoids and the essential fatty acids, and the researchers have examined the berries, their composition and their nutrition, while the study of the nutrient-rich berries has drawn attention in the international food and nutritional press. The plant has also been studied in the horticulture and the landscape science, since the sea buckthorn is a hardy, useful shrub for the coastal landscape and the soil stabilization, and the researchers have examined its cultivation, its propagation and its value in the landscape, while the study of the hardy shrubs has been of continuing interest. The species has also been studied in the ecology, since it is a nitrogen-fixing plant of the sandy coasts and a food source for the birds which eat its berries, and its role in the ecosystems has been examined, while the silvery leaves and the bright-orange berries of the sea buckthorn have been of interest to the botanists and the food scientists. For a shrub of such utility, the Hippophae rhamnoides has a rich and distinguished record of research.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

To grow the Sea Buckthorn from seed, the sea buckthorn is a dense, spiny, deciduous shrub of the sandy coasts, bearing the silvery, narrow leaves and the bright-orange, nutrient-rich berries which persist through the winter. Its berries are a major food for the birds through the winter, and its nitrogen-fixing roots improve the poor soil, while its dense, spiny habit gives a fine hedge and a windbreak in the coastal landscape. Its economic value is real: the sea buckthorn is prized for its nutrient-rich berries used in the food and the cosmetics, and as a hardy shrub for the coastal landscape and the soil stabilization, and its value has drawn attention in the international food and horticultural press, while the bright-orange berries and the easy cultivation have made it a favourite of the coastal gardens and the food industry, and the shrub is a fine addition to the coastal garden, the hedge and the wildlife garden. To raise the sea buckthorn, sow the seeds in pots of moist, sandy soil in a cool, bright place, keep them gently watered, and grow the little shrubs on in the sun.

sow the seeds in pots of moist, sandy soil in a cool, bright place, keep the young sea buckthorn gently watered, and grow the little shrubs on in the sun.

Sea Buckthorn, Hippophae Rhamnoides, Shrub Seeds   Hardy, Adaptable, Easy to Grow, Edible Fruits, Wildlife Food/Refuge, Cold, Salt, Wind and Drought Tolerant, Nitrogen Fixing, Nutritional Fruits, Medicinal   With plenty to recommend it, Sea Buckthorn is widely used for healing in Asia and Europe, where it is valued as a potent anti-oxidant, a source for Vitamin C and a healing oil. The attractive small tree or shrub, also called Seaberry, is likely the most widely grown, northern hardy, fruiting plant in the world, but most Americans have never heard of it! In Europe, the sour, flavorful fruit is sweetened and its orange passion fruit like flavor makes fine sauces, jellies and a base for liqueurs. Blended with other fruits, it makes a delicious juice. The plants, native to the Russian Far East, are incredibly productive and a great choice for backyard fruit production! Sea buckthorn is dioecious, with separate male and female plants. Narrow silver leaves and plentiful round, yellow-orange fruit cover the 6-10' tall, narrow, upright female forms. Sea buckthorn withstands severe weather and grows huge root systems in poor soil (and fixes nitrogen in the soil). It can grow in low rainfall areas of mountains, sea coast and semi-desert areas. They are extremely hardy, to -50° F., disease resistant and easy to grow.   For centuries, the people of central and southeastern Asia have used sea buckthorn as an agent of traditional medicine to prevent and treat various ailments. Today, the plant is primarily valued for its fruits, which provide vitamin C, vitamin E, and other nutrients, antioxidants, oils rich in essential fatty acids, and other healthful components. The leaves are also used for making a multi-vitamin herbal beverage. The list of products made with sea buckthorn is long and varied and includes jams, juices, medicinal and cosmetic lotions, nutritional supplements, liquors. Branches are used in floral displays, and commercial crops are harvested by cutting off entire fruit-laden branches. For many animal and bird species, sea buckthorn is an important source of food and shelter.   Medicinal uses of sea buckthorn are well documented in Asia and Europe. Clinical tests on medicinal uses were first initiated in Russia during the 1950s. The most important pharmacological functions attributed to sea buckthorn oil are: anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, pain relief, and promoting regeneration of tissues. More than ten different drugs have been developed from sea buckthorn in Asia and Europe.   The ancient Greeks named the genus Hippophaë,or "glittering horse," because they believed that horses became plump and healthy when maintained on pastures with these trees. Today, herdsmen in northwest China often feed sea buckthorn leaves to their animals. In Russia, fodder supplements of sea buckthorn by-products are reported to improve live weights and coat condition. Feeding poultry with meal made from sea buckthorn fruit and fruit oil has been observed to increase the pigmentation of egg yolks and body fat. The oil also increases flesh pigmentation in rainbow trout.   Other Names: Sea Buckthorn, Sea-buckthorn, Seaberry Uses: Winter fruit effect, mass or grouping, border, screen, seaside planting, erosion control, wildlife refuge, edible fruit.