Simmondsia chinensis
(Link) C.K.Schneid. · speciesAt a glance
Sources14 archives
Databases and archives Simmondsia chinensis's data was compiled from.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation16 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility11 918 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI8 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics12 specimens↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinesequences↗
dukesphytochemcompounds
LOTUSNatural Products (Wikidata)compounds↗
NPASSNat. Product Activity & Species Sourcecompounds↗
GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
CCDBChromosome Counts DB · Tel Aviv U.genome & karyotype↗
GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.
Jojoba (; botanical name: Simmondsia chinensis)also commonly called goat nut, deer nut, pignut, wild hazel, quinine nut, coffeeberry, and gray box bushis native to the Southwestern United States. Simmondsia chinensis is the sole species of the family Simmondsiaceae, placed in the order Caryophyllales. Jojoba is grown commercially to produce jojoba oil, a liquid wax ester extracted from its seed.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Size & morphology12
Life cycle & reproduction31
Diet & foraging1
Habitat & environment26
Physiology & chemistry25
Uses & economy15
Other traits9
Compounds documented for Simmondsia chinensis across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").
Compound class profile5 classes
Documented compounds169 total
| Compound | Class | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| FAT | 538,000 ppm | DukesPhytochem | |
| CARBOHYDRATES | 291,000 ppm | DukesPhytochem | |
| PROTEIN | 156,000 ppm | DukesPhytochem | |
| WATER | 46,000 ppm | DukesPhytochem | |
| FIBER | 42,000 ppm | DukesPhytochem | |
| ASH | 16,000 ppm | DukesPhytochem | |
| POTASSIUM | 6,610 ppm | DukesPhytochem | |
| MAGNESIUM | 1,410 ppm | DukesPhytochem | |
| CALCIUM | 372 ppm | DukesPhytochem | |
| SODIUM | 136 ppm | DukesPhytochem |
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Simmondsia chinensis has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
The complete instruction manual Simmondsia chinensis carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is
Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
2n 523×CCDB · ipcn-api-dl
n 261×CCDB · book-ipcn65
Sequencing statusassembly quality — how far to trust these numbers
Assembly level tells you how finished the sequence is — from fragmented contigs, through scaffolds, up to a full chromosome-level assembly. BUSCO % estimates completeness: the share of genes expected to be present that were actually found. These describe the data quality, not the organism.
How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.
At a glance
When this lineage existed
How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard periods (Jurassic, Cretaceous…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. The dashed rules marked ✦ are the five great mass extinctions. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.
Record type11 918 records
Origin
Range
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Holding institutions61 of 91 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
| Institution | Specimens |
|---|---|
| San Diego, US | 349 |
| ASUlocation not on record | 260 |
| Phoenix, US | 137 |
| Riverside, US | 117 |
| Claremont, US | 114 |
| Mexico City, MX | 86 |
| La Paz, MX | 46 |
| Flagstaff, US | 38 |
| Santa Barbara, US | 34 |
| Ensenada, MX | 29 |
| Los Angeles, US | 23 |
| Davis, US | 19 |
| Severin-McDaniel Insect Collectionlocation not on record | 19 |
| Durango, MX | 17 |
| Saint Louis, US | 17 |
| Logan, US | 16 |
| Austin, US | 15 |
| Bronx, US | 15 |
| Hermosillo, MX | 14 |
| CASlocation not on record | 13 |
| US | 12 |
| San Jose State University, Museum of Birds and Mammalslocation not on record | 12 |
| EL PASO, US | 10 |
| Irvine, US | 10 |
| Calabar, NG | 9 |
| Arizona State University Biocollectionslocation not on record | 9 |
| San Luis Obispo, US | 9 |
| Wuzhou, CN | 9 |
| Arcata, US | 8 |
| Juriquilla, MX | 7 |
| Long Beach, US | 7 |
| University of Stellenboschlocation not on record | 6 |
| Austin, US | 6 |
| BAYLUlocation not on record | 5 |
| Angwin, US | 5 |
| Tampa, US | 5 |
| DOI/NPS, Little Rock Central High School National Historic Sitelocation not on record | 5 |
| Canadian Department of Agriculturelocation not on record | 4 |
| DOI/NPS, Colonial National Historical Parklocation not on record | 4 |
| Northridge, US | 4 |
| San Juan College School of Science Math & Engineeringlocation not on record | 4 |
| Arizona Western Collegelocation not on record | 4 |
| Mexico City, MX | 3 |
| Florida Museum of Natural History- Zoology, Paleontology & Paleobotanylocation not on record | 3 |
| Museo Entomologico de Leonlocation not on record | 3 |
| Chadron, US | 3 |
| Provo, US | 3 |
| LDlocation not on record | 3 |
| Bloomington, US | 3 |
| Clemson, US | 3 |
| MEXUlocation not on record | 3 |
| The University of Arizonalocation not on record | 3 |
| Kew, GB | 3 |
| San Angelo, US | 2 |
| Chapel Hill, US | 2 |
| Boise, US | 2 |
| Henderson, US | 2 |
| Chapingo, MX | 2 |
| Philadelphia, US | 2 |
| Pocatello, US | 2 |
| San Bernardino, US | 2 |
| Chicago, US | 2 |
| San Jose, US | 2 |
| Albuquerque, US | 2 |
| Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznańlocation not on record | 2 |
| Lubbock, US | 2 |
| University of Alberta Museumslocation not on record | 2 |
| Burlington, US | 2 |
| Alexandria Universitylocation not on record | 2 |
| Bangkok, TH | 2 |
| Fargo, US | 2 |
| Tlalnepantla, MX | 2 |
| North Carolina Zoological Parklocation not on record | 1 |
| CJBGlocation not on record | 1 |
| Phyletisches Museum Jenalocation not on record | 1 |
| Whitehorse, CA | 1 |
| CPATSAlocation not on record | 1 |
| San Diego Natural History Museum, Herbariumlocation not on record | 1 |
| Denver, US | 1 |
| Zürich, CH | 1 |
| USFSlocation not on record | 1 |
| Hobart, AU | 1 |
| Moscow State Universitylocation not on record | 1 |
| TAFORI-LSRClocation not on record | 1 |
| Williamsburg, US | 1 |
| Chongqing Museumlocation not on record | 1 |
| Moscow, US | 1 |
| Miami, US | 1 |
| Auckland, NZ | 1 |
| Pullman, US | 1 |
| MeiseBGlocation not on record | 1 |
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Where the DNA of Simmondsia chinensis was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Where its DNA was found
How strong is each trace?
Modelled climatemodelled
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.