Simmondsia chinensis

 

Simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) (jojoba)

Simmondsiaceae

  • Although this desert shrub lacks showy flowers, its floral clusters and waxy fruit still intrigue many people. The plant shape guides wind-dispersed pollen toward female flowers, but bees also steal pollen from male plants. Jojoba prefers rocky slopes with coarse soils, above pockets of cold air drainage. The liquid wax extracted from its seeds is currently marketed as a key ingredient in many cosmetics. Jojoba has a long and variable flowering season. At one site, it has extended from mid-January to late-April in some years, but only February and early March in others. "Arizona Highways Presents Desert Wildflowers, 1988". 
  • Densly branched, many-stemmed, hemispherical shrub, with tardily drought-deciduous foliage of simple, ovate leaves. The wood is hard. The fruit is nutlike, leathery capsule 1.5 to 2 cm long and has a single seed, which consists of approximately 50 percent "oil". The seeds are unique because the "oil" is a liquid wax rather than fat. Common on the mainland and on Tiburon and San Esteban islands. Adornment: the seeds were strung for necklaces. Food: the seeds could be eaten fresh. However, the Seri regarded it as survival food, and not as something sustaining. Some said eating jojoba caused diarrhea. Although edible, jojoba seeds are apparently not digestible. Food Preparation: two kinds of meat skewers were fashioned from the wood. Hair Care: shampoo made from the ground fruit continued to be popular in the early 1980s. The greener, young twigs of Bursera microphylla, with the mark removed, were sometimes added to the jojoba shampoo. Ground jojoba seeds were rubbed into the hair to encourage luxuriant growth, and on the following day the hair was shampooed. If a man wanted to grow a beard, he roasted jojoba seeds in ashes. When blackened, the seeds were ground into a mash and rubbed on the chin. It was said to produce a better growth of beard after three days. Medicine: the seeds were placed in hot ashes. removed before they burned, and crushed on a metate. The oil and blackened portions were applied to sores on the head. Three applications were said to be sufficient. To relieve eye soreness the seeds were ground, put into a cloth, and the liquid squeezed into the eyes. Raw green seeds were chewed to deaden the pain of a sore throat. As a remedy for a cold, the seeds were crushed and cooked in water for a short time. The resulting liquid was drunk, causing vomiting which was said to clear the throat. This same liquid was taken near the time of birth to aid in delivery. "People of the Desert and Sea, Ethnobotany of the Seri Indians".

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