Dasylirion durangense

Dasylirion durangense, common name "sotol," is a perennial plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to Durango, Chihuahua and Sonora, Mexico. It is closely related to D. wheeleri S. Wats. and considered a variety of that species by some authors.[2] The plant has a large basal rosette of long stiff leaves over 1 m in length, bearing sharp, curved spines along the margins. The flowering stalk can be up to 3 m tall, bearing small wind-pollinated flowers.[3]

Dasylirion durangense
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asparagaceae
Subfamily: Nolinoideae
Genus: Dasylirion
Species:
D. durangense
Binomial name
Dasylirion durangense
Trel.
Synonyms[1]
  • Dasylirion wheeleri var. durangense Laferr.

Some publications misspell the epithet as "duranguense" or "duranguensis." "Durangense" is correct.

Uses

The indigenous peoples of the Sierra Madre Occidental (Tarahumara, Pima Bajo, and Tepehuan) use the sweet immature flowering stalk to produce a distilled alcoholic beverage, also called sotol. They also strip the spines off the margins of the leaves and use the leaves to make baskets, holiday decorations and other items.[4][5][6]

References
  1. Tropicos Dasylirion durangense
  2. Laferrière, Joseph E. 1991. Dasylirion wheeleri var. durangense: a new combination in the Nolinaceae. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 78(2):516-520.
  3. Trel., Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc. 50: 438. 1911.
  4. Pennington, C. W. 1963 The Tarahumar of Mexico: Their Material Culture. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.
  5. Pennington, C. W. 1969. The Tepehuan of Chihuahua: their material culture. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.
  6. Laferrière, Joseph E., & Willard Van Asdall. 1991. Plant use in Mountain Pima holiday decorations. Kiva 57:27-38.
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