Vasilis Teodoridis:
Elaeagnaceae | Hippophae
1. Hippophaë rhamnoides Linnaeus; Sp. Pl. 2: 1023. 1753.
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Elaeagnus rhamnoides (Linnaeus) A. Nelson; Rhamnoides Hippophae Moench.
Shrubs or trees; 1-15(-18) m tall. Bark brownish green; yellowish brown; or black; branches many; spines 2-7 cm. Leaves alternate; petiole ± absent; leaf blade abaxially silvery white suffused with brown or yellow; adaxially dark grayish green; linear or linear-lanceolate; 2-8 x 0.2-0.8 cm; ± narrowed at base; abaxially with white and brown stellate scales; margin ± revolute; apex subobtuse. Male inflorescence a minute spike; 5-8 x 4-6 mm. Male flowers: calyx lobes greenish brown; ovate-orbicular; 3-4 x 3-3.5 mm; concave; outside with numerous brown and sparse white stellate scales; stamens 1/2-2/3 as long as calyx; anthers nearly sessile; oblong-linear; ca. 1.5 mm. Female flowers 2-5 in axils of branchlets; pedicels ca. 0.5 mm; to 5 mm in fruit; calyx brown; tubular; oblong-obovate; 2.5-4 x 1-1.5 mm; outside with stellate brown and few white scales; lobes obtuse; interior with rather long white hairs; dense in upper part; Ovary globose-ovoid; 1-2 mm; ca. 1/2 as long as calyx; glabrous; style ca. 0.5 mm; stigma oblong; 0.5-1 mm; exserted. Peduncle 1-7 mm. Fruit orange or reddish; globose; ovoid; globose-ovoid; or ellipsoid; terete; 4-9(-10) x 3-8 mm; glabrous; succulent and aromatic. Endocarp easy to separate from seed. Seed dark brown; sometimes nearly black; glossy; ovoid-oblong; or oblong-ellipsoid; 4-7 x 1.5-2 or 4-5 mm. Fl. Apr-May; fr. Sep-Oct. 2n = 24*.
River banks and terraces; dry river beds; forest margins; thickets on mountain slopes; moraines; meadows at highest elevations; 600-4200 m. Gansu; Hebei; Nei Mongol; Qinghai; Shaanxi; Shanxi; Sichuan; Xinjiang; N and SE Xizang; Yunnan [Afghanistan; India; Kashmir; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyzstan; Mongolia; Pakistan; Russia; Tajikistan; Turkmenistan; Uzbekistan; SW Asia; Europe]