Question

Assertion: Jojoba hohoba (Simmondsia chinensis) is the only known flowering plant in which the food reserve is neither starch nor an oil, but a liquid wax.
Reason: Though the wax is formed by the combination of fatty acids with an alcohol, the alcohol is not the trihydric alcohol but is not the trihedral alcohol glycerol.
A. Both assertion and reason are correct and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
B. Both assertion and reason are correct and reason is not the correct explanation of assertion.
C. Assertion is correct but reason is incorrect.
D. Both assertion and reason are incorrect.

Answer 1

Hint: Jojoba hohoba is also known as the wild hazel or coffeeberry. The plant is endemic to the Southwestern part of the US. It belongs to the family Simmondsiaceae. In this plant the reserve food material is in the form of a substance formed from the fatty acid but is not similar to the glycerol.

Complete answer:
In Jojoba hohoba, the food stored in the flower is not in the form of starch as it is in a majority of other flowers. Instead of starch or oil, the reserve food material in the plant stored in the flower is in the form of liquid wax. Thus the Assertion is right.
It is known as wax since it is not a triglyceride, but a mixture of several fatty alcohols and long chain esters of fatty acids. It is formed as a result of an esterification reaction between a fatty acid and alcohol. The alcohol is not a trihydric or trihedral alcohol glycerol, but a mixture of both saturated and unsaturated long chain alcohols of between 16 and 26 carbons in chain length. An example of such an alcohol is hexadecanol. Thus the reason is also correct. And the reason is the correct explanation for the assertion.

So, the correct answer is “Option A”.

Note:
Apart from the alcohols, the fatty acids present in the wax are: Palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, and certain vitamins such as Vitamin B complex and Vitamin C. The oil or wax is predominantly used as an ingredient in various cosmetics. It helps in maintaining the health of skin and hair.