Dasylirion wheeleri, common sotol
Tesky, Julie L. 1993. Dasylirion wheeleri, common sotol. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/daswhe
| Abbreviation | Common Name | Scientific Name | Classification | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plants | ||||
| DASWHE | common sotol | Dasylirion wheeleri | Life Form: Plants/Shrub Kingdom: Plantae Class: Dicot Order: Liliales Family: Liliaceae Genus: Dasylirion | Fed. Protected: No Nativity: Native Invasiveness: Noninvasive |
Taxonomy
The currently accepted scientific name of common sotol is Dasylirion wheeleri S. Wats. [7,10,21].
Synonyms
No entry.
Other Common Names
desert spoon, spoon-flower, spoon-leaf, Wheeler sotol
General Distribution
Common sotol occurs from western Texas to southern Arizona and Mexico [11,21]. In Arizona it occurs from the Mazatzal and Quivari mountains in Pima County to Greenlee and Cochise counties. In New Mexico desert spoon occurs on the Gila River and Rio Grande drainages from Socorro County southward and eastward to the White Mountain, Lincoln County. In Texas it occurs in the Trans-Pecos region and western parts of the Edwards Plateau [24].
States
- United States: AZ NM TX
- Mexico
Site Characteristics
Common sotol grows on hillsides and slopes in chaparral, desert and semidesert grasslands and southwestern oak (Quercus) woodland communities at 3,000 to 5,000 feet (914-1,524 m) in elevation [24,21]. Subsurface water is generally not available. The soil is shallow, rocky, or gravelly with good drainage [24]. In Trans-Pacos, Texas, common sotol is commonly found growing on limestone and granite [14].
Common sotol is commonly found associated with turpentine bush (Haplopappus laricifolius), sacahuista (Nolina microcarpa), scrub oak (Quercus turbinella), Arizona oak (Q. arizonicus), hollyleaf oak (Q. wilcoxii), desert ceanothus (Ceanothus greggii), true mountain-mahogany (Cercocarpus montanus), banana yucca (Yucca baccata), grama (Bouteloua spp.), feather grass (Andropogon saccharoides), silver feather grass (Muhlenbergia emersleyi), deer grass (M. rigens), and manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp.) [4,13,25].
Plant Communities
No entry.
Botanical Description
Common sotol is a large, native, desert leaf succulent shrub [2,21,24]. The slender leaves are basally clumped. The leaves are 0.8 to 1.6 inches (2-4 cm) wide at the base and have prickles on the margins [24]. The trunk may be up to 3 feet (0.91 m) high, and is either partially buried or above ground [21]. The flowers are on a long terminal panicle 6 to 17 feet (1.8-5.2 m) high; those on the staminate plants are composed of dense catkinlike spikes [7,11]. Information on the longevity and root system of common sotol is not available in the literature. However, Cannon [26] describes a similar species (Dasylirion texanum) as having a large number of roots, each about 0.2 inch (0.5 cm) in diameter, formed at the base of the stem. The roots run downward at an acute angle and also extend out into the soil in a more or less horizontal direction. The roots are coarse and are found between 5.9 to 14.1 inches (15-36 cm) below the surface.
Raunkiaer Life Form (Raunkiaer 1934)
- Phanerophyte
Seasonal Development
Common sotol generally flowers in spring or early summer [8,14,21]. In the Chihuahuan Desert, New Mexico, initiation of flower buds began in mid- to late May. Flowering occurred in June and July, and fruits were mature by August [8].
Regeneration Processes
Sexual reproduction - Common sotol plants are dioecious. They produce thousands of tiny flowers in a long narrow cluster [11]. The seed is contained in a one-celled, three-winged capsule [7]. Common sotol is cold tolerant and will easily grow from seed [16,21].
Vegetative reproduction - Common sotol can reproduce vegetatively by sprouting from a thick, woody, mostly subterranean caudex [7].
Successional Status
Common sotol occurs in seral, climax, and postclimax communities. In the desert plains grasslands it is often subdominant in the beargrass-scrub oak postclimax community and the curly mesquite (Hilaria belangeri)-blue grama climax community [23].
Immediate Fire Effects
The ability of common sotol to survive fire is dependent upon the frequency and intensity of fire. Severe fires can greatly reduce common sotol. On burnt sites in the desert grasslands of Arizona, White [22] reported that all of the moderately or lightly fire damaged plants survived the fire while only 3 percent of the severely damaged plants survived. Eleven and a half months after a fire in a semidesert grassland near the Sierrita Mountains, Arizona, mortality of common sotol was 47 percent on burnt sites and 0 percent on the control site [19].
Postfire Regeneration Strategy (Stickney 1989)
- Caudex, growing points in soil
Fire Adaptations
Common sotol is moderately sensitive to fire [22]. It occurs in desert communities that are subject to naturally occurring fire [18]. Common sotol is a survivor species capable of sprouting from an aboveground caudex when burnt [19].
Plant Response to Fire
Common sotol populations may suffer high mortality after a severe fire. However, if the plant survives, it may sprout from a short aboveground caudex [19,22]. After a semidesert grassland fire in southern Arizona, the 71 common sotol plants that survived had apical regrowth. No seedlings were found even after 11 postfire months [19].
Fire Regimes
For fire regime information, search FEIS for this species by entering the species name on the Advanced Search page and selecting “Fire Regime” as the publication type.
Fire Management Considerations
Common sotol occurs in desert grasslands which are being increasingly managed by using fire [19]. In these areas, fire is primarily used to reverse dense scrub invasion and stimulate grass production. Control of common sotol would vary with the conditions and type of burn [22].
Federal Status
None
Other Status
No entry.
Importance to Wildlife and Livestock
The sugary trunks and leaf bases of common sotol have been used to feed cattle during droughts [14,24]. Ranchers also burn the leaves and split the short, round flower heads of common sotol for cattle feed [21]. Bighorn sheep browse common sotol [7].
Palatability and Nutritional Value
No entry.
Cover Value
No entry.
Value for Rehabilitation or Restoration of Disturbed Sites
No entry.
Other Uses
Common sotol has a variety of uses [24,21]. The Indians and Mexicans prepared an alcoholic drink known as sotol by roasting the flower head in a pit for 24 hours and then distilling the expressed juice. The leaves are used to make mats, baskets, ropes, thatch, and paper [11,21,24]. The broad spoonlike leafbase is often used in dried floral arrangements [11]. Common sotol is also grown as an ornamental [21].
Other Management Considerations
No entry.
Table A1— Forest and range ecosystems, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) physiographic regions, Kuchler plant associations, Society for American Foresters (SAF) forest cover types, and Society for Rangeland Management (SRM) rangeland cover types in which this species occurs.
Forest and Range Ecosystems (Garrison et al. 1977)
- FRES30 Desert shrub
- FRES32 Texas savanna
- FRES33 Southwestern shrubsteppe
- FRES34 Chaparral - mountain shrub
- FRES40 Desert grasslands
BLM Physiographic Regions (Bernard and Brown 1977)
- 7 Lower Basin and Range
- 12 Colorado Plateau
- 13 Rocky Mountain Piedmont
Kuchler Plant Associations (Kuchler 1964)
- K033 Chaparral
- K040 Saltbush – greasewood
- K041 Creosotebush
- K042 Creosotebush – bursage
- K043 Paloverde - cactus shrub
- K044 Creosotebush – tarbush
- K045 Ceniza shrub
- K046 Desert: vegetation largely lacking
- K053 Grama - galleta steppe
- K054 Grama - tobosa prairie
- K057 Galleta - three-awn shrubsteppe
- K058 Grama - tobosa shrubsteppe
- K059 Trans-Pecos shrub savanna
- K060 Mesquite savanna
- K061 Mesquite - acacia savanna
- K062 Mesquite - live oak savanna
- K087 Mesquite - oak savanna
SAF Cover Types (Eyre 1980)
- 68 Mesquite
- 72 Southern scrub oak
- 241 Western live oak
- 242 Mesquite
SRM Rangeland Cover Types (Shiflet 1994)
No entry.
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2. Brown, David E. 1982. Chihuahuan desertscrub. In: Brown, David E., ed. Biotic communities of the American Southwest--United States and Mexico. Desert Plants. 4(1-4): 169-179. [3607]
3. Brown, David E. 1982. Semidesert grassland. In: Brown, David E., ed. Biotic communities of the American Southwest--United States and Mexico. Desert Plants. 4(1-4): 123-131. [3603]
4. Dick-Peddie, W. A.; Moir, W. H. 1970. Vegetation of the Organ Mountains, New Mexico. Science Series No. 4. Fort Collins, CO: Colorado State University, Range Science Department. 28 p. [6699]
5. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]
6. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others]. 1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]
7. Kearney, Thomas H.; Peebles, Robert H.; Howell, John Thomas; McClintock, Elizabeth. 1960. Arizona flora. 2d ed. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. 1085 p. [6563]
8. Kemp, Paul R. 1983. Phenological patterns of Chihuahuan desert plants in relation to the timing of water availability. Journal of Ecology. 71: 427-436. [5054]
9. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York: American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]
10. Laferriere, Joseph E. 1991. Dasylirion wheeleri var. durangense: a new combination in the Nolinaceae. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. 78(2): 516-520. [15171]
11. MacMahon, James A. 1985. The Audubon Society nature guides: Deserts. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 638 p. [4956]
12. Mahgoub, El Fatih; Pieper, Rex D.; Ortiz, Melchor. 1988. Use of leader lengths and diameters to estimate production and utilization of Cercocarpus breviflorus. Journal of Range Management. 41(2): 153-155. [348]
13. Pase, Charles P.; Brown, David E. 1982. Interior chaparral. In: Brown, David E., ed. Biotic communities of the American Southwest--United States and Mexico. Desert Plants. 4(1-4): 95-99. [1826]
14. Powell, A. Michael. 1988. Trees & shrubs of Trans-Pecos Texas including Big Bend and Guadalupe Mountains National Parks. Big Bend National Park, TX: Big Bend Natural History Association. 536 p. [6130]
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17. Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern Rocky Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT; RWU 4403 files. 7 p. [20090]
18. Thomas, P. A. 1991. Response of succulents to fire: a review. International Journal of Wildland Fire. 1(1): 11-22. [14991]
19. Thomas, P. A.; Goodson, P. 1992. Conservation of succulents in desert grasslands managed by fire. Biological Conservation. 60(2): 91-100. [19894]
20. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982. National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names. SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p. [11573]
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25. Niering, William A.; Lowe, Charles H. 1984. Vegetation of the Santa Catalina Mountains: community types and dynamics. Vegetatio. 58: 3-28. [12037]
26. Cannon, William Austin. 1911. The root habits of desert plants. Washington, DC: The Carnegie Institution of Washington. 96 p. [5003]