I’m sea buckthorn, and I’ve watched people come and go alongside these coastal dunes for hundreds of years.
My thorny branches shield clusters of brilliant orange berries that glow like tiny suns in opposition to my silvery leaves.
The traditional Greeks named me Hippophae – “shining horse” – believing I made their horses’ coats gleam with well being.
Those that know my secrets and techniques perceive that inside every small fruit lies a treasure trove of vitamins, in contrast to another plant.
A single teaspoon of my juice comprises sufficient vitamin C to maintain you every day.
My berries maintain over 190 bioactive compounds – nature’s most complicated cocktail of health-giving parts.
The sensible ones who courageous my thorns remodel my tart fruits into stunning meals.
They simmer me into jellies and marmalades that seize summer time’s brightness in a jar.
My juice provides tangy depth to salad dressings and brings complexity to fish and meat dishes.
When preserved in honey, I change into a strong tonic. Dried and floor, I add mysterious flavour to grilled meats.
However bear in mind – I don’t surrender my presents simply. My thorns demand respect, and my berries’ intense sourness surprises these anticipating sweetness.
Take too many without delay, and I may be persuasive in clearing your digestive system.
I provide my bounty from late summer time till spring’s first heat however heed this warning: these carrying new life inside them ought to go me by, as ought to moms nursing their younger.
For all others looking for nature’s most potent drugs cupboard, I wait right here on the windswept dunes, my orange berries glowing like beacons in opposition to the gray sea sky.
