About Dasylirion wheeleri S.Watson ex Rothr.
Dasylirion wheeleri is a moderate to slow-growing evergreen shrub. It typically has a single unbranched trunk up to 40 centimeters (16 inches) thick and 1.5 meters (5 feet) tall, though the trunk often lies recumbent on the ground. Its slender gray-green leaf blades measure 35–100 cm (14–39 in) long, have toothed margins, and radiate outward in all directions from the apex of the trunk to form a spherical shape. It blooms from May to July, producing a flowering stem that grows above the foliage, reaching 5 m (16 ft) in height and 3 cm (1+1⁄4 in) in diameter. This stem is topped by a long plume of small straw-colored flowers, each about 2.5 cm long with six tepals. Flower color indicates the plant’s gender: male flowers are mostly white, while female flowers are purple-pink. Its fruit is an oval dry capsule 5–8 millimeters (1⁄4–3⁄8 in) long, which holds a single seed. The similar species Dasylirion leiophyllum can be distinguished by its toothed leaves that curve toward the base. This plant is native to arid, rocky habitats: it occurs in northern Mexico, in Chihuahua and Sonora, and in the southwestern United States, where it grows in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, as well as in New Mexico and western Texas. Dasylirion wheeleri is cultivated as an ornamental plant, and is particularly valued for xeriscaping. Since it cannot tolerate extended frosts, it is usually grown under glass in temperate climates. It has received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. The alcoholic drink sotol, a northern relative of tequila and mezcal, is made from fermented inner cores of this plant, and it is the official state drink of the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Durango, and Coahuila. Native peoples of the region have historically used this plant for food and fiber. Its flower stalk can be used as a fire plow. The Tarahumara and Pima Bajo peoples of the Sierra Madre Occidental in Chihuahua weave baskets from its leaves after removing the spines from the leaf margins, and they use its expanded leaf bases to make large artificial flowers for holiday decorations.
