Side by side
Sea buckthorn or tree groundsel? How to tell them apart
Hippophae rhamnoides · Baccharis halimifolia
How to tell them apart – sea buckthorn: thorns, narrow silvery leaves and orange berries; tree groundsel: semi-evergreen shrub with grey-green, coarsely toothed leaves, which turns silvery-white and fluffy on female plants in autumn, invasive on the coast.
Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Svdmolen assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Sea buckthorn Hippophae rhamnoides
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How do you recognise them?
- Sea buckthorn
- Thorny shrub with narrow, silvery-grey leaves and, in autumn, masses of orange berries packed along the branches.
- Compared with tree groundsel: thorns, narrow silvery leaves and orange berries.
- Tree groundsel
- Semi-evergreen shrub with grey-green, coarsely toothed leaves, which turns silvery-white and fluffy on female plants in autumn; invasive on the coast.
| Sea buckthorn | Tree groundsel | |
|---|---|---|
| Leaves | Alternate, 3–7 cm, linear; grey-green above, silvery-scaly below. | Alternate, 3–7 cm, obovate to diamond-shaped, coarsely toothed in the upper part (often untoothed near the top of the branches), thick, grey-green and slightly sticky. |
| Flowering | Inconspicuous greenish-brown flowers in March–April, before the leaves; separate male and female plants (March–April). | Small, white to yellowish-green flower heads in clusters, in September–October; male and female plants (September–October). |
| Fruit | Orange, sour berries (6–8 mm) crowded along the branches, rich in vitamin C; only on female plants. | Masses of seeds with silvery-white fluff on the female plants (October–November), which blow far away. |
| Bark | Branches with sharp thorns; young twigs silvery brown. | Green, grooved, slightly sticky twigs, later brown. |
| Shape and height | Shrub, 1–4 m | Shrub, 1–4 m |
| Site | Full sun, any garden soil, dry | Full sun, any garden soil, dry to wet |
| Native to Belgium | Yes | No, an invasive alien species |
| Good for bees, butterflies and birds | Yes, for birds | – |
| Poisonous to people and pets | Not known to be poisonous | Not known to be poisonous |
| Pruning months | February–March | Better removed than pruned |
What does it mean for your garden?
- Tree groundsel is an invasive non-native species: do not plant it. Pull up seedlings and choose a native species instead.
- Sea buckthorn is native: it feeds more insects and birds than a non-native species. If in doubt, choose this one.
Read on
- Plant profile: Sea buckthorn
- Plant profile: Tree groundsel
- Sea buckthorn: when and how to prune
- Identification key
Also looks like
This comparison is compiled from the Bladwijzer species pages.