Jojoba is a shrub which is native to the Sonoran, Mojave and Baja California deserts of Arizona,
California, and Mexico and the southernmost portion of the California Floristic Province.
It is the sole species of the family Simmondsiaceae, placed in the order Caryophyllales. Jojoba
is grown commercially for its oil, a liquid wax ester, extracted from the seed. The plant
has also been used to combat and prevent desertification in the Thar Desert in India.
Description Jojoba grows, to 1–2 meters tall, with a
broad, dense crown, but there have been reports of plants as tall as 3 meters. The leaves
are opposite, oval in shape, 2–4 centimeters long and 1.5–3 centimeters broad, thick
waxy glaucous gray-green in color. The flowers are small, greenish-yellow, with 5–6 sepals
and no petals. Jojoba foliage provides year-round food opportunity
for many animals, including deer, javelina, bighorn sheep, and livestock. The nuts are
eaten by squirrels, rabbits, other rodents, and larger birds. Only Bailey's Pocket Mouse,
however, is known to be able to digest the wax found inside the jojoba nut.
In large quantities, the seed meal is toxic to many mammals, and the indigestible wax
acts as a laxative in humans. The Seri, who utilize nearly every edible plant in their
territory, do not regard the beans as real food and in the past ate it only in emergencies.
Despite its scientific name Simmondsia chinensis, Jojoba does not originate in China; the botanist
Johann Link, originally named the species Buxus chinensis, after misreading a collection
label "Calif" as "China". It was the Native Americans who discovered
the importance and versatility of jojoba. During the early eighteenth century Jesuit
missionaries in Baja observed them heating jojoba seeds to soften them. They then used
pestle and mortar to create a salve or buttery substance. The latter was applied to the skin
and hair to heal and condition. Native Americans also used the salve to soften and preserve
animal hides. Pregnant women ate jojoba seeds, believing they assisted during childbirth.
Hunters and raiders munched jojoba on the trail to keep hunger at bay.
Jojoba was collected again in 1836 by Thomas Nuttall who described it as a new genus and
species in 1844, naming it Simmondsia californica, but priority rules require that the original
specific epithet be used. The common name should also not be confused with the similar-sounding
Jujube, an unrelated plant.
Reproduction Each plant is single-sex, either male or female,
with hermaphrodites being extremely rare. The fruit is an acorn-shaped ovoid, three-angled
capsule 1–2 centimeters long, partly enclosed at the base by the sepals. The mature seed
is a hard oval, dark brown in color and contains an oil content of approximately 54%. An average-size
bush produces 1 kilogram of pollen, to which few humans are allergic. The female plants
produce seed from flowers pollinated by the male plants. Jojoba leaves have an aerodynamic
shape, creating a spiral effect, which brings wind-born pollen from the male flower to the
female flower. In the Northern Hemisphere, pollination occurs during February and March.
In the Southern Hemisphere, pollination occurs during August and September. The haploid number
of jojoba is 13. Somatic cells of jojoba are tetraploid, the number of chromosomes is 2n
= 4x = 52.
Origin Jojoba is endemic to Northern America and
occupies an area of approximately 260,000 square kilometers between latitudes 25° and
31° North and between longitudes 109° and 117° West, which is approximately the area
covered by the Sonoran Desert. Etymology
The name "jojoba" originated from O'odham Hohowi. The O'odham people, from the Sonoran
Desert in the southwestern United States, treated burns with an antioxidant salve made
from a paste of the jojoba nut. Cultivation and uses
Jojoba is grown for the liquid wax in its seeds. This oil is rare in that it's an extremely
long straight-chain wax ester and not a triglyceride, making jojoba and its derivative jojoba esters
more similar to human sebum and whale oil than to traditional vegetable oils.
Jojoba oil is interesting for the industry because it is odorless and it has a viscosity
which is temperature-independent. Applications vary from engine lubricating oil to cooking
oil. Jojoba wax is used predominantly for pharmaceutical compounds, specially for skin
products. After polymerization factice can be used for rubber production. The use as
biodiesel fuel is becoming more and more important. The jojoba plant has also gained attention
in the discussion about renewable energy, in particular, biofuels. Jojoba oil consists
of long straight monoesters of 22 to 44 carbon atoms, which makes it comparable to diesel
in respects of energy density. The pretreatment of jojoba oil for the use of biofuel is simpler
compared to that of other mineral and bio-oils and it is expected that combustion of jojoba
oil leads to smaller NOx-emissions compared to diesel and doesn't lead to SOx emissions
at all. Light and coarse textured soils are preferred
by Jojoba. Good drainage and water penetration is necessary. It tolerates salinity and poor-nutrient
soils. pH should be between 5 and 8. High temperatures are tolerated by Jojoba but frost
could damage or kill plants. Requirements are poor because Jojoba plants don’t need
an intensive cultivation. Weed problems only occur first two years after planting and there
is little damage by insects. Supplemental irrigation could maximize production if there
is not enough rainfall of 400 mm. There is no need for high fertilisation but specially
in the first year nitrogen increases growth. Jojoba is normally harvested by hand because
not all seeds do mature in the same time. Yield is around 3,5 t/ha depending from the
age of plantation. Plantations of jojoba have been established
in a number of desert and semi-desert areas, predominantly in Argentina, Australia, Israel,
Mexico, Peru and the United States. It is currently the Sonoran Desert's second most
economically valuable native plant. Selective breeding is developing plants that
produce more beans with higher wax content, as well as other characteristics that will
facilitate harvesting. Its ability to withstand high salinity and
the high value of jojoba products make jojoba an interesting plant for the use of desertification
control, for example in India. References
External links "Glossary". International Jojoba Export Council.
Selected Families of Angiosperms: Rosidae—An explanation of the scientific name
Jojoba oil as biodiesel Alternative Field Crops Manual
USDA Plants Profile: Simmondsia chinensis Howser, Huell. "Jojoba – California's Gold".
California's Gold. Chapman University Huell Howser Archive.