Abstract:Chinese sea buckthorn is a dioecious shrub with wind-pollinated flowers. This work aimed to study the influence of flowering pattern on pollination, and the effect of pollination efficiency on fruit set percentage. During two successive years, we observed flowering phenology and patterns, and investigated pollen viability, stigma receptivity, pollen-ovule ratio (P/O), and fruit set percentage. The results showed that the pollination period stretched from April 20 to May 10. The blossom of a single flower could last 7 days, with a pollinating peak between the third and fifth day and the stigma-receptive stage between the second and fourth or fifth day. The flowers were small, without corolla and appeared before the leaves emerge. There were 2 sepals and 4 stamens in a male flower. When anther matured, two sepals split from both sides to form a wind tunnel, which made pollen shed easily. The flowering pattern and characteristics were typically adapted for wind pollination, with high pollen viability (70.8%) and remarkably high pollen-ovule ratio (7×105). The distances of pollen dispersal were significantly influenced by wind speed and other environmental factors. The pollen dispersed 15-25m at a wind speed of less than 3m/s, and the distance could exceed 85m when the wind speed was higher than 3m/s. Extreme bad weather could significantly reduce the efficiency of pollination and cause a low fruit set percentage.