Common name: Jojoba

Jojoba is a desert shrub from the southwestern United States and northern Mexico whose seeds contain a valuable liquid wax.

Its native range extends from Jurupa Valley, near Riverside, in southern California, and Pinal County, in neighbouring Arizona, south to Sonora and Baja California, in Mexico. Apart from its native range, it is introduced and cultivated in Peru, Israel, Argentina, and Australia primarily for its wax, which is used in cosmetics.

There are two main types of Jojoba, a northern type found mainly in California and a southern type from Mexico. The northern type can withstand temperatures as low as -9 °C (15 °F) for short periods, which would kill the southern type. However, both types are unaffected by summer temperatures that soar to 43 to 46 °C (110 to 115°F) throughout their range.

While typically a shrub under 5 meters (18 ft) in the wild, in cultivation with irrigation, it may attain a height of up to 7 meters (23 ft). One or more trunks support a densely leafy, wide-spreading crown.  

Leaves are leathery with a waxy coating and in various shapes and sizes depending on the type or variety. They may be broadly oval and up to 4 cm (1.5 in) long or narrowly oval and up to 8 cm (3 in) long. Dull grey-green when young, they age to yellow-green, then light brown and are arranged in pairs along the branches, where they persist for years.

The flowers are small with no petals, though they have five to six sepals resembling petals and are either female or male, borne on separate plants. Chilling is required to initiate flowering, restricting the plant's cultivation for jojoba wax to areas with cool enough winter temperatures. However, no flowering occurs in years of extreme drought, hence no fruit is produced.  

The flowers arise at the leaf axis, with female flowers borne singly and with pale green sepals and male flowers in clusters with yellow sepals. They bloom mainly in spring, encouraged by rising air temperatures and moisture from the rains of the preceding winter. Pollination is by wind rather than insects.

Fertilised flowers on female plants develop into oval fruit 2 to 3 cm (0.75 to 1.2 in) long. Wax makes up around half the seed weight.

Use

Seed are unique in that they contain wax not oil

Because it's non-comedogenic (does not tend to cause blackheads by blocking the pores of the skin) and easily absorbed by thirsty skin, jojoba oil has become a favourite of the cosmetic industry

used as a carrier oil for essential oil blends.

General interest

After the 1970s' "Save the Whales" campaign put pressure on the U.S. military to find a substitute for the sperm whale oil they were using as a lubricant, jojoba oil was discovered as a replacement.

During the Jojoba boom years of the '70s and '80s, there were approximately 14,570 hectares (36,000 acres) under cultivation in the U.S., owned and financed mainly by venture capitalist firms. Now there are only around 2,500 acres, half of which are managed by Chip.

Climate

Grows naturally in desert, semi-arid and Mediterranean climates, generally areas with annual lows of 7 to 19 °C, annual highs of 22 to 35 °C and annual rainfall of 200 to 700 mm (concentrated in winter), followed by a dry season of 6 to 10 months. However, its best development is in areas with annual rainfall of 400 to 700 mm. 

Although Jojoba also grows in colder climates with moderate temperature extremes, its cultivation for jojoba wax is best in hot, dry climates. Generally, areas where the average high of the hottest month is 25 °C or above and there is a long and pronounced summer dry season. In environments with summer rainfall or high humidity, the leaves and flowers become susceptible to fungal disease, causing the plant to be less productive.

Growing 

While the seed are harvested once a year, they are stored and pressed to order at the processing facility adjacent to Chip's fields. His team presses 17 pounds of seed for every gallon of oil.

Harvesting just once a year in March, Dan carefully curates a small team to collect the best jojoba beans.

[WANGA_Vol1.pdf] It is rarely found on heavy clay soils but seems to prefer coarse gravelly alluvial fans where water is most often available. i.e. sandy-loam, loamy-sand, sand and gravelly soil of a neutral to alkaline nature.

Usually starts flowering and producing fruit in the third year after planting.

Some chilling is required to induce flowering, which restricts its cultivation for jojoba wax to areas ....

Books

• Bonner, F. T & Karrfalt, R. P. 2008, The woody plant seed manual, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Washington D.C.

• Brady, G. S. & Clauser, H. R & Vaccari, J. A. 2002, Materials handbook : an encyclopedia for managers, technical professionals, purchasing and production managers, technicians and supervisors, 15th ed., McGraw-Hill, New York

• Byrne, T. & Bourke, M. & Salvin, S. 2004, The new crop industries handbook, Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), Canberra, Australia

• Editors of Sunset Magazine 2012, The New Western Garden Book: The Ultimate Gardening Guide, 9th edition, Sunset Publishing Corporation, California

• Khan, I. A. & Abourashed, E. A. 2010, Leung's encyclopedia of common natural ingredients : used in food, drugs and cosmetics, 3rd edition, Wiley Publishing, Hoboken, New Jersey

• National Research Council (Board on Science and Technology for International Development) 1975, Underexploited tropical plants with promising economic value, National Academic Press, Washington D. C.

• Randall, R. P. 2002, A global compendium of weeds, R.G. and F.J. Richardson Press, Melbourne

• Randall, R. P. 2007, The introduced flora of Australia and its weed status, Cooperative Research Centre for Australian Weed Management, Glen Osmond, South Australia

• Rosengarten, F. 1984, The book of edible nuts, Walker and Company Publishing, New York

• Roubik, David W. (David Ward), 1951- & Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 1995, Pollination of cultivated plants in the tropics, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome

• Standley, P. C. 1920, Trees and shrubs of Mexico, Government Printing Office (GPO), Washington D.C.

• Webb, D. B. 1984, A Guide to species selection for tropical and sub-tropical plantations, 2nd ed., Unit of Tropical Silviculture, Commonwealth Forestry Institute, University of Oxford, Oxfordshire

• Wickens, G. E 1995, Edible nuts, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome

• Winter, R. 2009, A consumer's dictionary of cosmetic ingredients : complete information about the harmful and desirable ingredients found in cosmetics and cosmeceuticals, 7th ed, Three Rivers Press, New York

Articles, Journals, Reports and Working Papers

• Buddenhagen C.E., Chimera C. & Clifford P. 2009, Assessing Biofuel Crop Invasiveness: A Case Study, PLoS ONE 4