About Dasylirion leiophyllum Engelm. ex Trel.
Dasylirion leiophyllum is a species of flowering plant in the asparagus family, with the common names green sotol, smooth-leaf sotol, and smooth sotol. It is native to North America, occurring in the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Coahuila, and in New Mexico and western Texas in the United States. This species was first collected by Valery Havard in 1880, and formally described by William Trelease in 1911. This plant is a succulent shrub with a trunk that can reach up to one meter long, growing either erect or reclining. Its leaves are shiny, bright green, fibrous, narrow, long, and pointed, growing up to 80 centimeters long and 2.5 centimeters wide, with prickles along the margins. Mature individuals often retain a sheath of dead leaves from previous growing seasons around their trunks. The inflorescence is roughly 30 centimeters long, and grows on top of a stalk that can reach up to five meters in height. This species is dioecious, meaning male and female reproductive structures grow on separate individual plants. The many tiny flowers have whitish or greenish tepals around 2 millimeters long. The fruit is a three-winged capsule that is less than one centimeter in length. The plant reproduces both by seed, and vegetatively by sprouting from buds located at the bases of its leaves. This species is native to the Chihuahuan Desert, where it is a dominant plant in a number of plant communities. It very often grows alongside lechuguilla and walnut. It can be found in woodlands and desert grasslands, most often growing on calcareous substrates, and is generally restricted to dry areas. Other plant species that may grow in this plant’s native habitat include prickly pear, yucca, nolina, Pinchot juniper, wavyleaf oak, skeleton goldeye, curlyleaf muhly, grama grasses, threeawns, and slim tridens. Mature individuals of this species can catch fire and burn for hours if struck by lightning. If the burning upper portion of the plant breaks off and rolls downhill, it can spread fire to other parts of the habitat. After burning, this plant can sometimes resprout from the buds at its leaf bases. In Mexico, species of the Dasylirion genus are used to produce the liquor called "sotol". The trunks of these plants contain large amounts of starch; this starchy material is roasted, fermented, and distilled to create the liquor. Similar to tequila, this liquor can only legally be labeled and referred to as "sotol" if it originates from certain specific regions of Mexico. This traditional designation was officially recognized by the Mexican government when it granted the spirit a denomination of origin (DO), which the United States began honoring under the North American Free Trade Agreement. This issue has become controversial in recent years, after two companies in Texas began producing liquor from Dasylirion species harvested on private Texas ranches. This was possible after lobbyists removed protections for Mexican sotol producers from international trade agreements during last-minute renegotiations, with the support of a Texas senator.
