94 MISC, PUBLICATION 101, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
bush occurring in western Texas and southern New Mexico and south 
into Mexico, 1s suspected by stockmen on the Alamo division of the 
Lincoln National Forest as being poisonous. 
The seeds of many spurges are poisonous, having a violent purga- 
tive action; the seeds of other species (sometimes of the same genus), 
however, are relished by native birds (such as doves, wild turkeys, 
etc.) which eat them with apparent impunity. 
All in all, knowledge concerning the spurges on the western ranges 
is all too scanty and additional observation both in the field and in 
the laboratory appears to be demanded. 
BOX FAMILY (BUXACEAE) 
Jojoba (Simmondsia californica) (fig. 25; pl. 8, A), known by a 
variety of vernacular names, including bushnut, coffee berry, coffee 
bush, goat-berry, nutbrush, and pignut, constitutes a monotypic genus 
related to the well-known common box (Buaus sempervirens). 
It is a bushy-branched and spreading shrub, about 3 to 6 feet high, 
with leathery thick and persistent rather pale leaves about 1 to 1144 
inches long. Jojoba is a species of the dry foothills, occurring in 
Arizona, southern California, and Lower California at elevations of 
2,500 to 4,000 feet, and is frequently associated with creosote bush 
(Covillea) and desertwillow (Chilopsis). 
Goats, sheep, and cattle appear to relish jojoba leaves and tender 
twigs. Furthermore, the size, abundance, and evergreen character 
of the foliage, the frequent abundance of the bush in dry sites where 
there is a relative dearth of palatable associates, and its rapid recov- 
ery, when protected from the effects of close cropping, cause the 
species to occupy an important position among the indigenous browse 
species of the Southwest. While the plant is undoubtedly nutritious, 
it would probably be classed rather as a fattening than a muscle- 
building feed. An analysis of the leaves of this species collected on 
the Prescott National Forest, Ariz., made for the Forest Service in 
1914 by the then Bureau of Chemistry, gave the following result: 
Per cent 
Moishure.2 23 a a ee 8. 83 
7: =| 1 ein tek negate eure rrreiss Bx hee, bee inate Nr er 5. 80 
Wither “extract (?)'s tts". 3 1 2ti Reeee) 2A ee eee 3. 06 
Proteim 2 2!) 2! 6. Ss ee ee ee Ls ee 7.38 
Crude. fllber.._.. ee ee eee 15. 41 
Nitrogen-free extract 2... 082 ee eee 59. 52 
100. 00 
The seeds of jojoba have an agreeable nutty flavor, and are a 
rather important source of food supply among certain Indians. The 
oil of the seeds has been used in the manufacture of hair tonic, for 
which purpose the shrub has sometimes been cultivated in parts of 
southern California. Thornber (132) indicates that the growth of 
this bush under cultivation is too slow to justify its use in artificial 
range revegetation; also that the species is spread largely through 
the instrumentality of squirrels, which collect and hoard the seeds. 
Jojoba is said to be the chief source of feed for wild goats and deer 
on some of the large islands off the California coast. 
