Dasylirion wheeleri

Dasylirion wheeleri

Common Name: Desert Spoon, Sotol
O’odham Name: U:mug Audio
Group: Semi-succulents - Desert Grassland (upper), Chaparral

Description

Dasylirion wheeleri is a yucca-like plant up to 8 or 10 ft tall. It grows abundantly, sometimes in dense stands of large old plants, on grasslands and rocky slopes between 4000 and 6000 ft elevation. Each year, old leaves dry and bend downward, and the stem develops into a shaggy trunk in older plants. From a distance, this plant is sometimes confused with Yucca elata. However, a closer view reveals significant differences: Sotol has a relatively short trunk and its leaves have marginal teeth, whereas leaves of Yucca have smooth margins, frequently with peeling marginal fibers. Dasylirion wheeleri produces a flower stalk every year.

Classification

Kingdom Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class Liliopsida – Monocotyledons
Subclass Liliidae
Order Liliales
Family Liliaceae – Lily family
Genus Dasylirion Zucc. – sotol
Species Dasylirion wheeleri S. Watson – common sotol

More Information

Arizona Distribution Map (USDA)