Sea Buckthorn History: From "Shining Horses" to Ladakh's Leh Berry
Sea buckthorn is a thorny shrub with bright orange berries that grows from the coasts of northern Europe to the high deserts of Ladakh. People across that range have used it for centuries, and it has picked up a remarkable set of names and stories along the way.
Here is its history, from the origin of its scientific name to its place in Indian food and farming today. Legends are marked clearly as legends.
Key Takeaways
- The scientific name Hippophae is usually explained as Greek for "shining horse", after horses that were fed the plant and grew glossy coats.
- Sea buckthorn was recorded in Tibetan medical writing as early as the first half of the 8th century.
- In India it's known as "Leh berry". Ladakh has nearly 64% of the country's sea buckthorn cultivation area, and "Ladakh Sea Buckthorn" holds a GI tag.
- Stories about Genghis Khan's army and exhausted horses recovering on sea buckthorn are popular, but they're folklore, not documented history.
What does the name Hippophae mean?
The botanical name for the genus, Hippophae, is usually traced to two Greek words: hippos, meaning horse, and phaos, meaning shining. The explanation is that in ancient Greece, horses were fed sea buckthorn to give them shiny coats (Jaśniewska & Diowksz, Antioxidants, 2021). A 2026 review also notes the plant's use as feed in Greek animal husbandry, particularly for horses (Liu et al., Frontiers in Pharmacology, 2026).
Not everyone agrees on the translation. One alternative reading takes the second part from a Greek word meaning "I kill", linked to the plant's supposed use against worms in horses (Gâtlan & Gutt, 2021). Either way, horses are at the root of the name.
The legend of the recovered horses
A popular story tells of wounded or exhausted horses left to die in a sea buckthorn thicket, only to return healthy and glossy after feeding on its leaves and berries. Versions of the tale are set in ancient Sparta and in Genghis Khan's Mongol army. It's a good story, and it fits the name, but there's no historical record behind it.
Where does sea buckthorn appear in traditional medicine?
Asia has the longest written record. The Tibetan medical classic Somaratsa recorded sea buckthorn as early as the first half of the 8th century (Wang et al., Frontiers in Nutrition, 2022). It also appears in several canonical texts (Liu et al., 2026):
- The rGyud-bzhi, or Four Medical Tantras, the foundation of Tibetan medicine
- The White Crystal Beads of Pharmaceutical Identification, a Mongolian materia medica
- Li Shizhen's Bencao Gangmu, the great Chinese Compendium of Materia Medica
Closer to home, the Indian government has noted that Ladakh's traditional amchi medicine system, part of the Sowa Rigpa tradition, places a high value on the berry (PIB, November 2021).
These are historical uses, not proof that sea buckthorn treats any condition. For what modern trials have actually found, see sea buckthorn benefits: what the research shows.
Soldiers and emperors
Chinese folklore adds more stories: Zhuge Liang's weary soldiers recovering their strength after eating wild "thorn fruit", and Qing dynasty emperors taking sea buckthorn pills on long campaigns. Like the horse legend, these are told and retold, but they're traditional stories rather than recorded history.
What is sea buckthorn called around the world?
The plant has collected dozens of local names, most describing its thorns, its orange fruit or where it grows (Gâtlan & Gutt, 2021):
| Name | Where | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Oil Tree of the North | Nordic countries | After its oil-rich berries |
| Sanddorn | Germany | "Sand thorn" |
| Oblepikha | Russia | Berries tightly attached to the branches |
| Leh berry | India | After Leh, in Ladakh |
How did sea buckthorn become Ladakh's Leh berry?
In India, sea buckthorn grows wild across the cold, high deserts of the Himalayas, and Ladakh is its stronghold. Ladakh has nearly 64% of India's sea buckthorn cultivation area, and much of it still grows wild (UT Ladakh Administration, December 2025).
Recent milestones:
- 2018: during a visit to Ladakh, the Prime Minister advised widespread cultivation of sea buckthorn (PIB, 2021).
- 2021: CSIR, working with the UT of Ladakh, announced commercial cultivation of "Leh berry". The same announcement said only about 10% of the wild crop was being harvested (PIB, November 2021).
- GI tag: "Ladakh Sea Buckthorn" is now one of Ladakh's Geographical Indication products, alongside Ladakh Pashmina and the Raktsey Karpo apricot (UT Ladakh Administration, June 2026).
Why so much of the crop goes unpicked, and how the plant survives in such harsh country, is covered in how sea buckthorn grows.
How is sea buckthorn used today?
The old uses live on in new forms. The 2021 government announcement listed around 100 possible products from the plant, from jams, juices and herbal tea to oils and soaps (PIB, 2021). For a practical tour of each form, see what sea buckthorn is used for.
Our sea buckthorn pulp is a simple way to try it at home, diluted in water or blended into smoothies. The full range is in the sea buckthorn collection.
Traditional and historical uses described here are not health claims. Sea buckthorn is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Sources
- Jaśniewska A, Diowksz A. Wide spectrum of active compounds in sea buckthorn for disease prevention and food production. Antioxidants, 2021. doi:10.3390/antiox10081279
- Gâtlan AM, Gutt G. Sea buckthorn in plant based diets. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2021. doi:10.3390/ijerph18178986
- Liu M et al. Ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, and pharmacology of sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.). Frontiers in Pharmacology, 2026. doi:10.3389/fphar.2026.1759697
- Wang Z et al. Phytochemistry, health benefits, and food applications of sea buckthorn. Frontiers in Nutrition, 2022. doi:10.3389/fnut.2022.1036295
- Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Science & Technology. CSIR and UT of Ladakh to start commercial cultivation of sea buckthorn "Leh Berry", 3 November 2021. pib.gov.in
- UT Ladakh Administration. Ladakh set to emerge as India's sea buckthorn capital, December 2025. ladakh.gov.in
- UT Ladakh Administration. Eight traditional Ladakhi products receive GI tag, June 2026. ladakh.gov.in
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