Dasylirion wheeleri
Desert Spoon, Sotol
OʼodhamU:mug
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.
