Index of Species Information
SPECIES: Dasylirion wheeleri
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Common sotol on the edge of Las Vegas, NV. Photo by Stan Shebs. |
Introductory
SPECIES: Dasylirion wheeleri
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION:
Tesky, Julie L. 1993. Dasylirion wheeleri. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online].
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station,
Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/shrub/daswhe/all.html [].
Revisions: On 24 August 2017, the common name of this species was changed in FEIS
from: desert spoon
to: common sotol.
ABBREVIATION:
DASWHE
SYNONYMS:
NO-ENTRY
SCS PLANT CODE:
DAWH2
COMMON NAMES:
common sotol
desert spoon
spoon-flower
spoon-leaf
Wheeler sotol
TAXONOMY:
The currently accepted scientific name of common sotol is Dasylirion
wheeleri S. Wats. [7,10,21].
LIFE FORM:
Shrub
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS:
No special status
OTHER STATUS:
NO-ENTRY
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Dasylirion wheeleri
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].
ECOSYSTEMS:
FRES30 Desert shrub
FRES32 Texas savanna
FRES33 Southwestern shrubsteppe
FRES34 Chaparral - mountain shrub
FRES40 Desert grasslands
STATES:
AZ NM TX MEXICO
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS:
7 Lower Basin and Range
12 Colorado Plateau
13 Rocky Mountain Piedmont
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS:
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:
68 Mesquite
72 Southern scrub oak
241 Western live oak
242 Mesquite
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES:
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES:
NO-ENTRY
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
SPECIES: Dasylirion wheeleri
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE:
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:
NO-ENTRY
NUTRITIONAL VALUE:
NO-ENTRY
COVER VALUE:
NO-ENTRY
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES:
NO-ENTRY
OTHER USES AND VALUES:
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
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Dasylirion wheeleri
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
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:
Phanerophyte
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].
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].
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].
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].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Dasylirion wheeleri
FIRE ECOLOGY OR 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].
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY:
Caudex, growing points in soil
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Dasylirion wheeleri
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT:
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].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT:
NO-ENTRY
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].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE:
NO-ENTRY
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].
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Dasylirion wheeleri
REFERENCES:
1. Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals,
reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's
associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO:
U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p.
[434]
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]
15. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant
geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]
16. Steenbergh, Warren F.; Lowe, Charles H. 1983. Ecology of the saguaro:
III. Growth and demography. Scientific Monograph Series Number 17.
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service.
228 p. [5212]
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]
21. Vines, Robert A. 1960. Trees, shrubs, and woody vines of the Southwest.
Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. 1104 p. [7707]
22. White, Larry D. 1969. Effects of a wildfire on several desert grassland
shrub species. Journal of Range Management. 22: 284-285. [2532]
23. Whitfield, Charles J.; Anderson, Hugh L. 1938. Secondary succession in
the desert plains grassland. Ecology. 19(2): 171-180. [5252]
24. Benson, Lyman; Darrow, Robert A. 1981. The trees and shrubs of the
Southwestern deserts. Tucson, AZ: The University of Arizona Press.
[18066]
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]
FEIS Home Page
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/shrub/daswhe/all.html