Simmondsia chinensis

 Simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) (jojoba)

Simmondsiaceae

  • Jojoba is a robust evergreen shrub that reaches as much as 6 feet or more in height. Jojoba is locally common on dry bajadas slopes of creosote bush scrub and Joshua tree woodlands of the Sonoran Desert and extends its range into Baja California ad western Arizona. Jojoba is easily recognized by its simple gray green leaves, 1-2 inches in length, that are arrayed in opposite pairs along the stems. Jojoba has separate male and female plants, and it is the female plants that produce a thick-walled capsule that contains jojoba oil- which is more precisely a liquid wax. Jojoba oil s widely used in cosmetics, shampoos, and body oils. "California Desert Plants, Philip W Rundel, Robert J Gustafson, Micahel E Kauffmann."
  • Seed in pots for transplanting; stem cuttings treated with IBA rooting hormone, misted and kept over low heat/ No treatment needed/Time of planting: summer. "Arizona Highways Presents Desert Wildflowers, 1988".
  • Shampoo made from seeds of jojoba was highly esteemed and continued to be used in 1983. The aromatic twigs of Bursera microhpylla were often added to the jojoba shampoo. "People of the Desert and Sea, Ethnobotany of the Seri Indians. Richard Stephen Felger and Mary Beck Moser".


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