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Simmondsia chinensis
Also called Goatnut
Jojoba is an evergreen, dioecious desert shrub from the southwestern US and northern Mexico, grown commercially for its seed oil (a liquid wax ester). It is the sole species in its family, Simmondsiaceae, and needs full sun, very good drainage and little water once established.
Jojoba ( ; botanical name: Simmondsia chinensis) – also commonly called goat nut, deer nut, pignut, wild hazel, quinine nut, coffeeberry, and gray box bush – is an evergreen, dioecious shrub native to the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Simmondsia chinensis is the sole species of the family Simmondsiaceae, placed in the order Caryophyllales. The name "jojoba" is a hispanicization from hohohwi in Oʼodham, not to be confused with the almost homographic but unrelated "jujube" (Ziziphus zizyphus) commonly grown in China.
Jojoba is grown commercially in its area of origin and in other (semi-)arid regions to produce jojoba oil, a liquid wax ester extracted from its seed. Jojoba oil is highly valued in the cosmetics industry.
The plant is a native shrub of the Sonoran Desert, Colorado Desert, Baja California desert, and California chaparral and woodlands habitats in the Peninsular Ranges and San Jacinto Mountains. It is found in southern California, Arizona, and Utah (U.S.), and Baja California state (Mexico).
Jojoba foliage provides year-round food for many animals, including deer, javelina, bighorn sheep, and livestock. Its seeds are eaten by squirrels, rabbits, other rodents, and larger birds.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Jojoba by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
