Simmondsia chinensis
Common names: GOATNUT, DEERNUT, (JOJOBA), WILD-HAZEL, COFFEEBERRY Arizona and California deserts: (Simmondsia chinensis). Green-yellow. December-July. Box family. Size: Shrub, 2 to 5 feet high.
Jojoba (hoh-HOH-bah) is another of the desert plants which is noticeable, not because of its flowers, but due to its leathery, gray-green foliage which persists throughout the year. These shrubs are numerous at elevations between 1,000 and 4,300 feet in the lower levels of desert mountain ranges, particularly on the alluvial fans at the mouths of canyons.
The acorn-like nuts, which taste something like filberts, but are bitter because of their tannin content, were long an important item of food among the Indians and the early settlers. The thickly set, evergreen leaves are browsed by Deer and other animals, and the nuts are gathered by Ground Squirrels.
The nuts contain an edible oil (actually a liquid wax) which has some medicinal value and is used in small quantities in the manufacture of hair oil. Attempts to raise the nut in commercial quantities have not proved successful. On occasions the nuts have been roasted and used as a substitute for coffee.
GREEN
Asclepias subulata
Asclepias erosa
Common names: DESERT MILKWEED, BEDSTRAW MILKWEED, (AJAMENTE) Arizona desert: (Asclepias subulata). Green-yellow. April-October. California desert: (Asclepias erosa). Green-white. September-October. Texas desert: (Asclepias texana). Green-white. Autumn. Milkweed family. Size: Perennials, up to 5 feet.
Readily recognizable because of their milky sap and the pods filled with silky-winged seeds, the Milkweeds are generally considered as poisonous to livestock, although rarely eaten. Appreciable quantities of rubber are found in the sap of some species.
GREEN
Koeberlinia spinosa
Holacantha emoryi
Common names: ALLTHORN, CROWN-OF-THORNS, CRUCIFIXION-THORN, (CORONA-DE-CRISTO) Arizona desert: (Koeberlinia spinosa). Greenish. May-June. California desert: (Holacantha emoryi). Yellow-green. June-July. Texas desert: (Koeberlinia spinosa). Greenish. May-June. Koeberlinia is Junco family. Holacantha is Simaruba family. Size: From 2 to 10 feet high.
Two intricately branched, thorny shrubs with green bark and leaves reduced to small scales and otherwise resembling each other are both popularly known by the names of Crown-of-thorns and Crucifixion-thorn, although they are not closely related botanically.
Flowers of both are small and inconspicuous, although when the bushes are in full bloom, they are quite noticeable. Even so, it is the unusual and eye-arresting appearance of these shrubs which appear as leafless masses of robust thorns, making them a conspicuous feature of the desert and arousing the interest and curiosity of observers.
In some locations these shrubs are sufficiently abundant to form thickets which repel livestock. Fruits of H. emoryi remain on the plant for years, and it is usually possible to identify each season’s fruit clusters by the degree of weathering. These masses of brown to black fruits are very noticeable and are often mistaken for parasitic growths or the results of a disease. A somewhat similar shrub, sometimes attaining tree size and superficially resembling the Paloverde (see [p. 36]), is the Mohave-thorn (Canotia holocantha). It is found at elevations between 2,500 and 4,500 feet, over much of southern and western Arizona and northern Sonora, and blossoms from May to August.