Dasylirion wheeleri
common sotol, desert spoon, spoon flower
stout, rigid;
blade whitish or bluish green, 35–100 × 2–3 cm wide above broadened base, densely waxy-glaucous, papillose, dull;
prickles all antrorse.
often massive, to 5 m;
stalk 3–6 diam. at base;
branches lateral, pendent in fruit, 3–10 cm;
bracts wedge-shaped, attenuate;
fascicles of flowers spreading, 10–20 cm from base to tip;
primary axes 4–14 cm.
with receptacles 0.2–0.5 mm;
tepals sometimes tinged purple, 2.4 × 1–1.5 mm;
style 0.2–0.3 mm, becoming swollen and golden brown in fruit;
stigma lobes 0.4 mm;
pedicel 3–3.5 mm in fruit.
broadly obovoid or rounded in cross section, not indented, 5–8 × 4–5(–7) mm;
distal wing lobes 2–2.5 mm, often indented on side.
= 38.
Dasylirion wheeleri
Morphologically, Dasylirion wheeleri is fairly uniform within its range in the United States, with some minor variation in fruit size and receptacle length.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
