Sea buckthorn oil

Sea buckthorn bush & sea buckthorn berry

Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) is a wild fruit that grows on a shrub.  It is often referred to as the lemon of the north, but also as pheasant berry or dune thorn. Sea buckthorn is a plant species from the genus of sea buckthorn (Hippophaë) within the oleaginous family (Elaeagnaceae).

Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) is a hardy, spiny shrub. It reaches a height of 1 to 6 meters and a width of up to 4 metres. The branches of the sea buckthorn shrub form thorny short shoots and, similar to the buds, appear bronze to silver-grey due to numerous small adjacent scales. The extensive dense root system of the sea buckthorn reaches a depth of 1.5 to 3 meters and can spread horizontally within a radius of up to 12 meters. As a pioneer plant, this gives the sea buckthorn a firm foothold on dunes or artificially created hillsides and binds the soil. This is why sea buckthorn is also planted for the recultivation of wasteland. The leaves reach a length between 40 and 80 millimeters and a width between 3 and 8 millimeters.

The small yellowish, inconspicuous, unisex flowers of the sea buckthorn are visible in Europe between March and May. The bright yellow to orange sea buckthorn berries ripen between August and December. These are characteristically 6 to 8 millimeters long, oval and botanically known as pseudo stone fruits. The berries are known for their high vitamin C content and are therefore processed into food and beverages as well as skin care products.

Inside the berries are the stone-like, elongated to round, outside brown-coloured seeds with a white kernel. They are 2.8 to 5.3 millimeters long and their width ranges from 1.4 to 2.7 millimeters.

As a winter resident, the fruits are an important resource for birds in the cold season.

Sea buckthorn is a pioneer plant and prefers calcareous sand and gravel soils in sunny locations. The shrub is often found in pine forests, along dried out rivers and on rocky slopes and gravelly shores. As a pioneer plant, it is a common species along sea coasts, especially on fixed dunes, but also in steppes. As secondary habitats, sea buckthorn inhabits gravel pits and road embankments.