Sea buckthorn (scientific name: Hippophae rhamnoides Linn.), also known as vinegar willow, sour thorn, black thorn, or sour thorn, refers to the plant and its fruits. The plant belongs to the Elaeagnaceae family and is a deciduous shrub. It grows up to 1.5 meters tall and can reach 18 meters in mountain valleys. It has many thorns that are stout and can be found at the top or sides of the branches. The buds are large, golden yellow, or rusty. The leaves are usually opposite, similar to the arrangement of the branches. They are papery, narrowly lanceolate or rectangular-ovate, measuring 30-80 millimeters long and 4-10 (-13) millimeters wide. The leaves have blunt tips or nearly circular bases, with the widest part at the base. The upper surface is green, initially covered with white shield-shaped hairs or stellate soft hairs, while the lower surface is silver-white or pale white, covered with scales and lacks stellate hairs. The leaf stalk is very short or absent, or it can be 1-1.5 millimeters long. The flowering period is from April to May, and the fruiting period is from September to October. Sea buckthorn is characterized by its preference for light, tolerance to cold and hot temperatures, resistance to drought and wind erosion, and its ability to survive in saline-alkaline soil. It is widely used in soil and water conservation.

Sea buckthorn is extensively planted in northwest China for desert greening purposes. The fruits of sea buckthorn have a high content of vitamin C and are known as the "king of vitamin C." It is distributed in northern China, northwest China, southwest China, and other regions. Sea buckthorn is a plant with both medicinal and edible uses. Its roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits, especially the fruits, contain rich nutrients and bioactive substances. They can be widely used in food, medicine, light industry, aerospace, agriculture, animal husbandry, and fisheries.

Morphological characteristics:

Sea buckthorn is a deciduous shrub or tree. It grows up to 1.5 meters tall and can reach 18 meters in mountain valleys. It has many thorns that are stout and can be found at the top or sides of the branches. The young branches are brownish-green, densely covered with silver-white and brown scales or sometimes with white stellate soft hairs. The old branches are dark gray-black and rough. The buds are large, golden yellow, or rusty. The leaves are usually opposite, similar to the arrangement of the branches. They are papery, narrowly lanceolate or rectangular-ovate, measuring 30-80 millimeters long and 4-10 (-13) millimeters wide. The leaves have blunt tips or nearly circular bases, with the widest part at the base. The upper surface is green, initially covered with white shield-shaped hairs or stellate soft hairs, while the lower surface is silver-white or pale white, covered with scales and lacks stellate hairs. The leaf stalk is very short or absent, or it can be 1-1.5 millimeters long. The fruits are spherical, with a diameter of 4-6 millimeters, and are orange-yellow or reddish-orange. The fruit stalk is 1-2.5 millimeters long. The seeds are small, broadly elliptical to ovoid, sometimes slightly flattened, measuring 3-4.2 millimeters long. They are black or purplish-black and have a glossy appearance. The flowering period is from April to May, and the fruiting period is from September to October.

Growth habits:

Sea buckthorn is a positive tree species that prefers light and is tolerant to cold, hot, windy, and arid climates. It has strong adaptability to different soil types. It can grow in open forests but cannot adapt to densely shaded forest areas. Sea buckthorn is not strict in its soil requirements and can be found in loamy calcareous soil, gray calcareous soil, brown calcareous soil, meadow soil, and black loamy soil. It can also grow in gravelly soil, slightly saline-alkaline soil, sandy soil, and even in sandy loam and semi-rocky soil areas, but it does not thrive in excessively heavy and sticky soil. Sea buckthorn has certain requirements for precipitation and generally requires an annual rainfall of over 400 millimeters. However, it can also grow in river floodplains, hilly valleys, and other areas with less rainfall, but it does not tolerate waterlogging. Sea buckthorn is not very demanding in terms of temperature and can withstand extreme minimum temperatures of -50℃ and extreme maximum temperatures of 50℃. It requires 1, 500 to 3, 300 hours of annual sunshine. Sea buckthorn is extremely drought-tolerant, extremely resistant to barren conditions, and extremely tolerant to cold and hot temperatures, making it a remarkable plant.

Geographical distribution:

Sea buckthorn is distributed in Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, and western Sichuan in China. It commonly grows in sunny mountain ridges, valleys, dry riverbeds, or slopes at altitudes ranging from 800 to 3, 600 meters. It prefers gravelly or sandy soil or loess soil. It is widespread in the Loess Plateau of China.

Main value:

Sea buckthorn's roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits, especially its fruits, contain abundant nutrients and bioactive substances. Its fruits are particularly rich in nutrients and are known as the "king of vitamin C." Sea buckthorn is widely used in food, medicine, light industry, aerospace, agriculture, animal husbandry, and fisheries, among many other sectors of the national economy. It has played an important role in windbreak, sand fixation, and soil and water conservation through extensive planting as part of the "Three-North" Shelterbelt Project.

   

下载: 全尺寸图片 幻灯片