Candelilla wax is a wax

Wax

thumb|right|[[Cetyl palmitate]], a typical wax ester.Wax refers to a class of chemical compounds that are plastic near ambient temperatures. Characteristically, they melt above 45 °C to give a low viscosity liquid. Waxes are insoluble in water but soluble in organic, nonpolar solvents...

 derived from the leaves of the small Candelilla

Candelilla

Euphorbia antisyphilitica is a species of spurge that is native to the Trans-Pecos of Texas and southern New Mexico in the United States as well as Chihuahua, Coahuila, Hidalgo, and Querétaro in Mexico. Common names include Candelilla and Wax Plant, but the latter is more often applied to members...

 shrub native to northern Mexico and the southwestern United States, Euphorbia cerifera and Euphorbia antisyphilitica, from the family Euphorbiaceae

Euphorbiaceae

Euphorbiaceae, the Spurge family are a large family of flowering plants with 300 genera and around 7,500 species. Most are herbs, but some, especially in the tropics, are also shrubs or trees. Some are succulent and resemble cacti....

. It is yellowish-brown, hard, brittle, aromatic, and opaque to translucent.
With a melting point

Melting point

The melting point of a solid is the temperature at which it changes state from solid to liquid. At the melting point the solid and liquid phase exist in equilibrium. The melting point of a substance depends on pressure and is usually specified at standard atmospheric pressure...

 of 68.5–72.5 °C, candelilla wax consists of mainly hydrocarbon

Hydrocarbon

In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons from which one hydrogen atom has been removed are functional groups, called hydrocarbyls....

s (about 50 %, chains with 29–33 carbons), ester

Ester

Esters are chemical compounds derived by reacting an oxoacid with a hydroxyl compound such as an alcohol or phenol. Esters are usually derived from an inorganic acid or organic acid in which at least one -OH group is replaced by an -O-alkyl group, and most commonly from carboxylic acids and...

s of higher molecular weight (20–29 %), free acids (7–9%), and resin

Resin

Resin in the most specific use of the term is a hydrocarbon secretion of many plants, particularly coniferous trees. Resins are valued for their chemical properties and associated uses, such as the production of varnishes, adhesives, and food glazing agents; as an important source of raw materials...

s (12–14%, mainly triterpenoid

Triterpenoid

Triterpenoids are terpenoid derviatives of triterpene molecules.They may have useful anti-cancer properties.Notable examples*Betulinic acid, possible anti-cancer drug*Bardoxolone methyl, inflammation modulator*Triterpenoid saponins...

 esters).