Jojoba, a bushy, bluish-green shrub commonly from 2 to 3, but occasionally 

 as much as 6 or 7 feet high, is widely known in the Southwest as coffeeberry 

 and is also locally called bushnut, bucknut, coffeebush, goatberry, and pignut 

 all such designations alluding to the nutlike fruit. It is the only species of 

 the genus, and belongs to the box family (Buxaceae). The plant was first dis- 

 covered near San Diego, Calif., apparently in 1835 by Thomas Nuttall, the 

 distinguished British-American botanist-ornithologist. Nuttall named the 

 genus "in memory of Thomas Williams Simmonds, an ardent Botanist and 

 Naturalist, who accompanied Lord Seaforth to Barbadoes about the year 1804, 

 and died soon after, while engaged in exploring the island of Trinidad." The 

 specific name commemorates the type locality. 



Jojoba occurs in Arizona, southern California, and Lower California, in 

 sandy or gravelly soils on the dry foothills and mesas, chiefly at elevations of 

 from 2,000 to 4,000 feet. It often occurs locally in nearly pure stands or as 

 one of the principal plants distributed over fairly large areas in association 

 with paloverdes (Cercidium spp.), acacias (Acne in sj>p.), and other plants of 

 the desert-shrub type. 



Jojoba is an important browse species of the Southwest. Its palatability 

 varies appreciably, depending upon, the association in which it occurs, but this 

 species is usually rated as good to very good winter forage and fair summer 

 forage for all classes of livestock. Its presence on dry sites where palatable 

 grasses and other herbaceous species are relatively scarce, enhances its palat- 

 ability. Its evergreen habit and comparatively large and abundant leafage, 

 which is readily available to livestock, further increase the value of this shrub. 

 Jojoba is very good emergency forage during drought, and on heavily grazed 

 range is sometimes browsed to the point of near-extermination. It withstands 

 heavy browsing well, and recovers rapidly from the effects of overuse, when 

 given protection or grazed conservatively. Jojoba is reported to be the chief 

 source of feed for wild goats and deer on some of the large islands off the 

 California coast. 1 A chemical analysis of the leaves of this shrub made for 

 the Forest Service by the Bureau of Chemistry and Soils of the U. S. Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture showed a high percentage of carbohydrates, which tends 

 to confirm the superior browse value of the species. 



The large, nutlike seeds of jojoba have an agreeable flavor, somewhat similar 

 to that of filberts, and are a rather important food of both the Indians and 

 Mexicans of the Southwest, California, and Lower California. 23 Saunders 3 

 reports that the Mexicans boil the seeds and extract the oil, which they use as 

 a hair-restorer. He also states that the oil has been used as a substitute for 

 olive oil, and is said never to turn rancid. 



Green and Foster 4 report that the average of several chemical analyses of 

 jojoba seeds showed a content of 45.66 percent crude fat. These analyses also 

 showed that the seeds contain a liquid wax very similar to sperm oil, a valuable 

 lubricant. Thornber 5 writes that the plant is spread by squirrels, which collect 

 and store the seed. He also states that the growth of jojoba under cultivation is 

 entirely too slow to merit consideration in artificial range revegetation. The 

 Forest Service, however, with some promise of success, is now conducting tests 

 in transplanting nursery-grown seedlings on the open range for revegetation 

 and soil-erosion control. 



Usually, jojoba is easily recognizable by its thick, leathery, bluish-green 

 leaves and dark-brown, nutlike seeds. The male (staminate) and female 

 (pistillate) flowers are borne separately on the same plant; the former in 

 clusters and the latter solitary. 



1 Dayton, W. A. IMPORTANT WESTERN BROWSE PLANTS. U. S. Dept. Agr. Misc. Pub. 

 101, 214 pp., illus. 1931. 



2 Saunders, C. F. A NEGLECTED NUT OF THE DESERT REGION. Desert 2 : 91, illus. 1930. 

 'Russell, F. THE PIMA INDIANS. U. S. Bur. Amer. Ethnol. Ann. Kept. (1904-05) 



26: 3- [390], illus. 1908. 



4 Green, R. A., and Foster. E. O. THE LIQUID WAX OF SEEDS OF SIMMONDSIA CALIFORNICA. 

 Bot. Gaz. 94: 826-828. 1933. 



6 Thornber. J. J. THE GRAZING RANGES OF ARIZONA. Ariz. Agr. Expt. Sta. Bull. 65: 

 [245J-360, illus. 1910. 



