Simmondsia chinensis (Link) C.K. Schneid.

vernacular jojoba — species · Simmondsiaceae

USDA: SICH
GBIF: 5361949
Rank: species

jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) — Platephotograph · Jeny DavisCC BY-NC-ND source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Growth habit: Shrub
Duration: Perennial
Group: Dicot
Family: Simmondsiaceae Tiegh.
Genus: Simmondsia

§2a

Native status, by region

L48 Lower 48 States Native

§2b

County-level range

· 12 counties across 2 states/territories

Legend Native · 12 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought: High
Shade: High
Moisture use: Low
Fire: High
Salinity: High
Anaerobic: None
CaCO₃: High
Hedging: High

§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance: -3 °F minimum
Frost-free days: 240 min.
Precipitation: 2–10 in/yr
pH range: 7–8.5
Root depth: 12 in min.
Fertility need: Low
Soil texture: coarse, medium

§3c

Form & growth

Growth form: Multiple Stem
Growth rate: Moderate
Lifespan: Long
Mature height: 7 ft
Height @ 20 y: 7 ft
Foliage texture: Medium
Foliage colour: Green
Porosity (summer): Moderate
Porosity (winter): Moderate
Flower colour: Yellow
Fruit colour: Brown
Fire resistant: No
N fixation: None
Toxicity: None

§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period: Late Spring
Seed abundance: High
Seed begins: Summer
Seed ends: Fall
Spread rate: Slow
Stratify: No
Seeds / lb: 700
Propagation: seed, cuttings, bare root, container

§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability: Field Collections Only
Nursery stock: Yes
Browse palatability: Medium
Graze palatability: Medium
Palatable, human: Yes
Protein potential: Medium
Lumber: No
Christmas tree: No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 12 counties across 2 states/territories.

Arizona view state ↗ 10 N ▾

Utah view state ↗ 2 N ▾

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/SICH ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/5361949 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26

fetched 2026-05-26T14:42:51Z