BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Dasylirion wheeleri | Wheeler Sotol 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Wheeler 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 Wheeler 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 - Wheeler 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].  Wheeler sotol is
cold tolerant and will easily grow from seed [16,21].

Vegetative reproduction - Wheeler sotol can reproduce vegetatively by
sprouting from a thick, woody, mostly subterranean caudex [7].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Wheeler 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, Wheeler
sotol is commonly found growing on limestone and granite [14].

Wheeler 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 : 
Facultative Seral Species

Wheeler sotol occurs in seral, climax, and postclimax communities.  In
the desert plains grasslands it is often subdominate in the
beargrass-scrub oak postclimax community and the curly mesquite (Hilaria
belangeri)-blue grama climax community [23].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Wheeler 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].

Related categories for Species: Dasylirion wheeleri | Wheeler Sotol