Jojoba Ã, ( listen ) , with the botanical name Simmondsia chinensis , and also known as goat bean, nuts, pignut, wild hazel, quinine beans, coffeeberry, and gray bush box , is originated from the North American Northwest. Simmondsia chinensis is the only species of the Simmondsiaceae family, placed in the Caryophyllales order.
Jojoba is grown commercially to produce jojoba oil, liquid wax ester extracted from the seeds.
Video Jojoba
Distribution
This plant is a genuine shrub from the Sonoran Desert, Colorado Desert, Baja California Desert, and California's chaparral and jungle habitats in the Peninsular Mountains and the San Jacinto Mountains. These are found in southern California, Arizona, and Utah (USA), and the state of Baja California (Mexico).
Jojoba is endemic to North America, and occupies an area of ​​approximately 260,000 square kilometers (100,000 m²) between latitudes 25  ° and 31  ° North and between longitudes 109  ° and 117  ° West Longitude.
Maps Jojoba
Description
Simmondsia chinensis, or jojoba, usually grows as high as 1-2 meters (3.3-6.6Ã, ft), with a wide and dense crown, but there are reports of plants as high as 3 meters (9.8 Ã, ft).
The leaves are opposite, oval-shaped, 2-4 cm long (0.79-1.57 inches) and 1.5-3 cm (0.59-1.18 inches) gray-green, thick, waxy, and green grayish.
The flowers are small and greenish yellow, with 5-6 sepals and no petals. Plants usually bloom from March to May.
Reproduction
Each plant is dioecious, with hermaphrodites becoming very rare. The fruit is ovoid-shaped seeds, three-angle capsule with a length of 1-2 centimeters (0.39-0.79 inches), partly covered at the bottom by sepals. The ripe seed is a hard oval which is dark brown and contains oil (waxy liquid) â € <â € The female plants produce seeds from flowers pollinated by male plants. Jojoba leaves have an aerodynamic shape, creating a spiral effect, which carries the pollen of wind from male flowers to female flowers. In the northern hemisphere, pollination occurs during February and March. In the southern hemisphere, pollination occurs during August and September. The somatic cell of jojoba is tetraploid; the number of chromosomes is 2 n = 4 x = 52.
Taxonomy
Despite its scientific name Simmondsia chinensis , this plant is not Chinese origin. Johann Link's botanist was originally named the Buxus chinensis species, after misreading the "Calif" collection label, referring to California, as "China." Jojoba was collected again in 1836 by Thomas Nuttall who described it as a genus and a new species in 1844, naming it Simmondsia californica, but priority rules require that the original nickname be used.
The common name "jojoba" comes from the name of O'odham Hohowi . Common names should not be confused with the jujube written in the same ( Zizyphus zizyphus ), unrelated plant species, which generally grow in China.
Usage
The leaves of Jojoba provide year-round food for many animals, including deer, javelin, bighorn sheep, and livestock. The nuts are eaten by squirrels, rabbits, other rodents, and larger birds.
Just a Bailey pocket mouse, however, is known to be able to digest the wax found inside jojoba beans. In large quantities, eating jojoba seeds is toxic to many mammals, then this effect is found due to simmondsin, which inhibits hunger. The digestive wax acts as a laxative in humans.
Native American uses
Native Americans find the importance and flexibility of jojoba. During the early 18th century Jesuit missionaries in the Baja California Peninsula observed indigenous peoples heating jojoba beans to soften them. They then use dimples and pestle to create an ointment or butter substance. The latter is applied to the skin and hair to heal and condition. The O'odham people in the Sonoran Desert treat burns with antioxidant ointments made from jojoba bean paste.
Native Americans also use ointments to soften and preserve animal skins. Pregnant women eat jojoba beans, believing that they help during labor. Hunters and robbers eat jojoba on the street to keep the hunger.
The Series, which utilize virtually every edible plant in their domain, does not consider peanuts as real food and in the past eat them only in emergencies.
Contemporary usage
Jojoba is grown for wax, commonly called jojoba oil, in the seeds. This oil is rare because it is a very long straight chain wax ester (C36-C46) and not a triglyceride, making jojoba and its jojoba ester derivatives more similar to whale oil than traditional vegetable oils. This has been discussed as a possible biodiesel fuel. Jojoba can not be cultivated on a scale to compete with traditional fossil fuels, and its use is regulated for personal care products.
Cultivation
Jojoba plantations have been established in a number of desert and semi-desert areas, especially in Argentina, Australia, Israel, Mexico, Peru and the United States. This is the second most economical native plant in Sonora Desert (overshadowed only by Washingtonia filifera - California fan palms, used as an ornamental tree).
Jojoba prefers light, coarse textured soil. Both drainage and water penetration are required. It tolerates salinity and poor soil nutrition. The soil pH should be between 5 and 8. The high temperatures are tolerated by jojoba, but frost may damage or kill plants. The requirement is bad because jojoba plants do not require intensive cultivation. Weed problems occur only during the first two years after planting and there is little damage by insects. Additional irrigation can maximize production if rainfall is less than 400 mm. No high fertilization is required, but, especially in the first year, nitrogen promotes growth. Jojoba is usually harvested by hand because the seeds are not all cooked at the same time. The yield is about 3.5 t/ha depending on the age of the plantation.
Selective breeding is developing plants that produce more nuts with higher wax content, as well as other characteristics that will facilitate harvesting.
Its ability to hold high salinity (up to 12 dS m -1 at pH 9) and high value of jojoba products make jojoba an attractive crop for use of desertification controls. It has been used to combat and prevent desertification in the Thar Desert in India.
References
External links
- USDA Plant Profile for Simmondsia chinensis (jojoba)
- The Calflora database: Simmondsia chinensis (jojoba)
- Jepson Manual (TJM93) treatment Simmondsia chinensis
- Selected Family of Angiosperms: Rosidae - explanation of the scientific name
- Newscientist.com: Jojoba oil as biodiesel
- Hort.purdue.edu: Alternative Field Crops Manual
- "Glossary". Jojoba International Export Council. Archived from the original in 2006-07-20.
- Howser, Huell (January 14, 2009). "Jojoba - Gold California (11014)". California Gold . Chapman University Archives Huell Howser.
- Use and Benefits of Jojoba Oil
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments