The physical and chemical properties of jojoba oil are reviewed. The oil, obtained from the seeds of wild shrubs in semi-arid areas, is a promising substitute for the rapidly diminishing sperm oil from whales. Sulphurized jojoba oil is known as a good lubricator; when hydrogenated it is convertible into a lustrous white crystalline wax, useful as a substitute for carnauba wax. Its miscibility in the latter form with polyethylene offers a number of other industrial applications. -- AATA