Jojoba

Jojoba is a long-lived evergreen shrub native to the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, and the sole member of the family Simmondsiaceae. In the landscape it serves as a dense windbreak, privacy screen, or low-water hedge, and female plants bear seeds of significant commercial value.

Jojoba is dioecious: male and female flowers are borne on separate plants, so at least one male is needed near several females for seed set. The plant develops a deep taproot and becomes highly drought-tolerant after one to two seasons; established plants in dry climates rarely need supplemental irrigation. It tolerates alkaline and rocky soils and brief cold down to about 15°F. Seedlings establish slowly but the shrub is exceptionally long-lived, often persisting a century or more. Prune lightly to maintain hedge density; the species tolerates hard cutting and resprouts readily.

Indigenous peoples of the Sonoran Desert, including the Tohono O'odham, historically roasted the seeds as food and prepared a coffee-like beverage from the ground nuts. The seeds produce a liquid wax ester—marketed as jojoba oil—that replaced sperm whale oil in cosmetics and industrial lubricants after commercial whaling restrictions in the 1970s. The wax is also applied topically for skin conditioning, wound treatment, and scalp care.