Sotol
Desert Spoon
Dasylirion wheeleri
Found on a shady slope adjacent to Peppersauce Canyon, Sta. Catalina Mts., Pinal Co., Arizona. April 2012. Dead sotols collapse and thus create a dense thicket of prickly leaves where birds, reptiles and mammals can nest.
RANGE: This large succulent reaching 2 meters
or more in height, appears on dry ledges and slopes lining sycamore canyons as
well as in upper Sonoran Desert, chaparral and encinal vegetation types. It
also a major component of the Chihuahuan Desert.
LEAVES: The long strap-like leaves are moderately thick and have sharp
closely spaced prickles along the margins. The base of each leaf expands
abruptly giving a so-called spoon-shape. Sotol leaves produce a resistant and
flexible fiber that has been used by the Tarahumara and others in weaving
baskets.
FLOWERS: Thousands of very small flowers appear on a 2 to 3 meter tall
spike each year. They are creamy-yellow in color.
SUCCULENT: The central stem stores water and starch which has been
harvested and fermented to produce an alcoholic beverage, Sotol.
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