Description
Each region (maakunta) in Finland has a flower or a plant chosen to represent it. This symbolizes the regional flora and the nature of the region.
Sea Buckthron or Common Sea-buckthorn is the regional flower of Satakunta. It is a thorny 0.5 -3 m high shrub or tree that is cultivated throughout Finland. Wild sea buckthorn is very common on Åland and the coast of Finland and the plants are is very resistant to drought, floods and salt. It is able to utilize atmospheric nitrogen like alder and therefore thrives on barren rocky seashores. It blooms in May-June and yellow-orange ca. 1 cm long berries ripen in August-October. The bushes are rich in berries that contain high amounts of vitamin C but berries are difficult to harvest because of the thorns. Therefore, presses are used in plantations, and often only the juice is harvested from the berries. In addition to juice, sea buckthorn is used for jam and liqueur and seeds can be used to produce oil to i.a. cosmetics.
