Botanic description
Seabuckthorn has existed since the dawn of times and is a pioneer plant, one of the first plant to establish itself in the soil after the withdrawal of the icesheet.
The seabuckthorn plant grows wild in particular Europe and Asia but has also been noticed in other parts of the world. As cultivated seabuckthorn mainly exist in Russia, Baltic states and Poland, but also in Germany and Canada. In Chinaa thera are huge areas with seabuckthorn mainly planted to diminish soilerosion.
Seabuckthorn is called Hippophaë rhamnoides in latin. The family name can be derived from the greek word of Phao(shining) and Hippos(horse) to the alleged claim to give horses strength and shining fur. Evens stories about Djinghis Khan exista when peolple talk about seabuckthorn.
Seabuckthorn is an oddball without closer relative. The family hippophaë belongs to the family Elaeagnacaea to which the families elaeagnus(silverbush) and shepherdia(buffelbush) belongs. The family Hippophaë includes 7 species of which 2 can be divided in different subspecies. The seabuckthorn species Hippophaë rhamnoides is the most common in the world and the species that is most grown.
In Sweden the Swedish Agriculture University SLU in the 90´s that through advanced Dna technology began to reserch and cross wild seabuckthorn with mainly Russian varieties to obtain varieties that was fit for the Swedish climate and to get growable and tasteful varieties.
Seabuckthorn is a diclinous plant which mean that the male -and female flowers sits on different plants, The flowers are pollinated by the wind and exist in nature in equal numbers. In plantation its enough with 10 % males.
Seabuckthorn is a little bush or a little tree. If You let the bush be uncut it can become over 6 meter high. The seabuckthorn plant obtain its own nitrogen and the berries sits directly on the last year sprig. The harvest takes place in august september.
The plant is pollinated by the wind and not bees. The flowers are very small and unimpressive. They open up in the end of april in Sweden and little earlier in the south of Europe.
The seabuckthorn berry is red, yellow and orange. Most of the berries are acidic and tastes little like passionfruit, The branches has thorns that makes them little hard to pick. The leafs are green and eatable by animal with a high amount of protein and high amount of polyphenols. For human You can make healthy tea of the leafs.
Seabuckthorn is best grown in sandy soil with ph of 6-7. The bush is easily sideslip and bindes the soil together effective with its roots.
Seabuckthorn is very healthy so far as for disease. But in the mainland of Europe some concerns are raising with the seabuckthornfly that has a larva that is penetrating the berry.