- Jojoba
Taxobox
name = Jojoba
image_width = 240px
image_caption = "Simmondsia chinensis" foliage and fruit
regnum =Plant ae
divisio =Magnoliophyta
classis =Magnoliopsida
ordo =Caryophyllales
familia = Simmondsiaceae
familia_authority = van Tieghem ex Reveal & Hoogland
genus = "Simmondsia"
species = "S. chinensis"
binomial = "Simmondsia chinensis"
binomial_authority = (Link) C.K.Schneid.Jojoba ("Simmondsia chinensis"), pronounced "hō-hō'-bə", is a
shrub native to theSonoran and Mojavedesert s ofArizona ,California , andMexico . It is the sole species of the family Simmondsiaceae, and sometimes placed in the box family, Buxaceae. It is also known as goat nut, deer nut, pignut, wild hazel, quinine nut, coffeeberry, and gray box bush.cite book | last = Steven J. Phillips, Patricia Wentworth Comus (eds.) | title = A Natural History of the Sonoran Desert | publisher = University of California Press | date = 2000 | pages = 256–257 | isbn = 0-520-21980-5 ]Description
Jojoba grows to 1–2 m tall, with a broad, dense crown. The leaves are opposite, oval in shape, 2–4 cm long and 1.5-3 cm broad, thick waxy glaucous gray-green in color. The
flower s are small, greenish-yellow, with 5–6 sepals and no petals. Each plant is single-sex, either male or female, withhermaphrodites being extremely rare. Thefruit is an acorn-shaped ovoid, three-angled capsule 1–2 cm long, partly enclosed at the base by the sepals. The mature seed is a hard oval, dark brown in color and contains an oil (liquid wax) content of approximately 54%. An average-size bush produces akilogram ofpollen , to which few humans are allergic.Jojoba foliage provides year-round food opportunity for many animals, including
deer ,javelina ,bighorn sheep , and livestock. The nuts are eaten bysquirrels ,rabbits , otherrodents , and larger birds. OnlyBailey'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 manymammals , and the indigestible wax acts as alaxative in humans. TheSeri , who utilize nearly every edible plant in their territory, don't 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 Nuttall's collection label "Calif" as "China". Jojoba was briefly renamed "Simmondsia californica", but priority rules require that the original specific epithet be used. The common name should also not be confused with the similar-soundingJujube ("Ziziphus zizyphus"), an unrelated plant.Etymology
The name "jojoba" originated with the
O'odham people of theSonoran Desert in the southwestUnited States , who treated burns with an antioxidant salve made from a paste of the jojoba nut.Cultivation and uses
Jojoba is grown for the liquid
wax (commonly calledjojoba oil ) in itsseed s. This oil is rare in that it is an extremely long (C36-C46) straight-chainwax ester and not atriglyceride , making jojoba and its derivativejojoba ester s more similar tosebum and whale oil than to traditional vegetable oils. Jojoba oil is easily refined to be odorless, colorless and oxidatively stable, and is often used incosmetics as a moisturizer and as acarrier oil for specialty fragrances. It also has potential use as both abiodiesel fuel for cars and trucks, as well as a biodegradable lubricant. Becausesperm whales are endangered,plantations of jojoba have been established in a number of desert and semi-desert areas, predominantly in Argentina, Israel, Mexico, Palestinian Authority, Peru, and the USA. It is currently theSonoran Desert 's second most economically valuable native plant (overshadowed only by the Washington palms used in horticulture). Selective breeding is developing plants that produce more beans with higher wax content, as well as other characteristics that will facilitate harvesting.References
External links
*
* [http://www.life.umd.edu/emeritus/reveal/pbio/pb450/rosi17.html Selected Families of Angiosperms: Rosidae] An explanation of the scientific name
* [http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993464 Jojoba oil as biodiesel]
* [http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/afcm/jojoba.html Alternative Field Crops Manual]
* [http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=SICH USDA Plants Profile: "Simmondsia chinensis"]
* [http://www.jojobassaf.com/ Jojoba Cultivation in Palestine]
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