What is Hippophae?

Seabuckthorn is a deciduous shrub belonging to the genus Hippophae rhamnoides and the family Hippophaeaceae.The name Seabuckthorn may be hyphenated to avoid confusion with the unrelated true Seabuckthorn (Rhamna, Rhamnaceae).It is also known as sandthorn, shallowthorn or seaberry.It produces orange-yellow berries that have been used for centuries as food, traditional medicine, and skin treatment in their native Mongolia, Ladakh, Russia, Ukraine, and Northern Europe.It is an exceptionally hardy plant, able to withstand winter temperatures as low as −43 °C (−45 °F).Due to its aggressiveness and extensive root system, Hippophae is grown to inhibit soil erosion and used in land reclamation for its nitrogen-fixing properties, wildlife habitat, and soil enrichment.Sea buckthorn berries and leaves are made into various human and animal food and skin care products.

Descriptions 

• Shrubs 0.5–6 m (1 ft 8 in–19 ft 8 in) tall, rarely reaching 10 m (33 ft) in Central Asia.The leaf arrangement can be alternated or reversed. 

• Hippophae goniocarpa grows on hillsides, river banks, riverbanks and valley terraces in the mountains of Nepal and China.The growth altitude is generally between 2650-3700 meters.This species is divided into two distinct subspecies,H.goniocarpa subspecies.litangensis and H.goniocarpa subspecies.Siliques.H.goniocarpa subspecies. litangensis differs from the typical subspecies by the young branchlets and the lower surface of the leaves.The Latin specific epithet goniocarpa refers to goniocarpus -a -um and the angular fruit.

•  Sea buckthorn

• Sea buckthorn

• Sea buckthorn

Hippophae rhamnoides:The common seabuckthorn tree has dense, hard, prickly branches.The leaves are distinctly silvery green, lanceolate, 3-8 cm (1-3 in) long and less than 7 mm (1⁄4 in) wide.It is dioecious, with separate male and female plants.Males produce brown flowers that produce windborne pollen.The female plant bears orange berries, 6–9 mm (1⁄4–3⁄8 in) in diameter, which are soft, juicy,and oily.Rapid and widespread root distribution provides non-legume nitrogen fixation to surrounding soil.Hippophae salicifolia (Sea buckthorn) is restricted to the Himalayas, south of common seabuckthorn, where it grows in dry valleys at high altitudes; it differs from H.rhamnoides by having a wider (up to 10 mm (3⁄8 in.) )) and greener (less silvery) leaves and yellow berries.Wild variants occur in the same area, but at higher elevations in alpine terrain.It is a low shrub not exceeding 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in height, with leaflets 1–3 cm (1⁄ 2–1+1⁄4 in) long.

• Tibetan sea buckthorn.

• Hippophae × goniocarpa Y.S.Lian et al. ex swensen and batish.