Dasylirion wheeleri
Encyclopedia
Dasylirion wheeleri is a flowering plant
native to arid environments of northern Mexico
, in Chihuahua and Sonora
and in the southwestern United States
, in the Sonoran Desert
in Arizona
, and also in New Mexico
and Texas
.
shrub
with a single unbranched trunk up to 40 cm thick growing to 1.5 m tall, though often recumbent on the ground. The leaf
blade is slender, 35-100 cm long, gray-green, with a toothed margin. The leaves radiate from the center of the plant's apex in all directions-(spherical
).
The flower
ing stem grows above the foliage, to a height of 5 m tall, and 3-6 cm diameter. The stem is topped by a long plume of straw-colored small flowers about 2.5 cm long with six tepal
s. The color of the flower determinate the gender of the plant, being mostly white colored for males and purple-pink for females plants. The fruit
is an oval dry capsule
5-8 mm long, containing a single seed
.
, valued in xeriscaping
. It can be planted any season but summer and pruned in October.
The drink sotol
is made from the Desert Spoon. It was also used by the natives of the region for food and fiber. Its flower stalk can be used as a fire plow.
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
native to arid environments of northern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, in Chihuahua and Sonora
Sonora
Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....
and in the southwestern United States
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
, in the Sonoran Desert
Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert is a North American desert which straddles part of the United States-Mexico border and covers large parts of the U.S. states of Arizona and California and the northwest Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. It is one of the largest and hottest...
in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, and also in New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
and Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
Description
Dasylirion wheeleri is a moderate to slow-growing evergreenEvergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
with a single unbranched trunk up to 40 cm thick growing to 1.5 m tall, though often recumbent on the ground. The leaf
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
blade is slender, 35-100 cm long, gray-green, with a toothed margin. The leaves radiate from the center of the plant's apex in all directions-(spherical
Sphere
A sphere is a perfectly round geometrical object in three-dimensional space, such as the shape of a round ball. Like a circle in two dimensions, a perfect sphere is completely symmetrical around its center, with all points on the surface lying the same distance r from the center point...
).
The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
ing stem grows above the foliage, to a height of 5 m tall, and 3-6 cm diameter. The stem is topped by a long plume of straw-colored small flowers about 2.5 cm long with six tepal
Tepal
Tepals are elements of the perianth, or outer part of a flower, which include the petals or sepals. The term tepal is more often applied specifically when all segments of the perianth are of similar shape and color, or undifferentiated, which is called perigone...
s. The color of the flower determinate the gender of the plant, being mostly white colored for males and purple-pink for females plants. The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
is an oval dry capsule
Capsule (fruit)
In botany a capsule is a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. A capsule is a structure composed of two or more carpels that in most cases is dehiscent, i.e. at maturity, it splits apart to release the seeds within. A few capsules are indehiscent, for example...
5-8 mm long, containing a single seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
.
Cultivation and uses
The Desert Spoon is grown as an ornamental plantOrnamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
, valued in xeriscaping
Xeriscaping
Xeriscaping and xerogardening refers to landscaping and gardening in ways that reduce or eliminate the need for supplemental water from irrigation...
. It can be planted any season but summer and pruned in October.
The drink sotol
Sotol
Sotol is a distilled spirit made from the Dasylirion wheeleri , a plant that grows in the wilds of Northern Mexico, New Mexico, West Texas, and the Texas Hill Country . It is known as the state drink of Chihuahua, Durango and Coahuila. There are few commercial examples available...
is made from the Desert Spoon. It was also used by the natives of the region for food and fiber. Its flower stalk can be used as a fire plow.