Simmondsia

GOAT-NUT, JOJOBA

Common Name: JOJOBA FAMILY
Habit: Shrub, evergreen, much-branched; dioecious. Stem: bark smooth. Leaf: opposite, simple, leathery; base jointed; stipules 0. Inflorescence: staminate flowers in axillary clusters, pistillate generally 1. Flower: small, radial; sepals generally 5, overlapped, becoming larger in pistillate, disk 0; corolla 0; stamens 8--12, free, anthers elongate with longitudinal slits; ovary superior, chambers 3, styles 3, stigmas long, +- not persistent in fruit. Fruit: capsule, loculicidal. Seed: 1.
Genera In Family: 1 genus, 1 sp.: southwestern United States, Mexico. Note: Recently shown (e.g., Carlquist 2002) to be not closely related to Buxaceae, in which it was sometimes placed; 2° growth unusual, produced by successive cambia.
eFlora Treatment Author: Robert E. Preston & William J. Stone
Scientific Editor: Thomas J. Rosatti.