Dasylirion wheeleri

Common Name: Desert Spoon, Sotol
Oˊodham Name: U:mug Audio
Group: Succulents － Chaparral, Desert Grassland (upper)

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

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