''Dasylirion'' is a genus of succulent, rosette-forming plants in the

Asparagaceae Asparagaceae (), known as the asparagus family, is a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots. The family name is based on the edible garden asparagus, '' Asparagus officinalis''. This family includes both ...

family (where it is included in the

Nolinoideae Nolinoideae is a monocot subfamily of the family Asparagaceae in the APG III system of 2009. It used to be treated as a separate family, Ruscaceae s.l. The family name is derived from the generic name of the type genus, '' Nolina''. The subfam ...

subfamily). Most species are native to mountainous arid regions of

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, with some species also native to the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...

. The common name sotol is used in English and Spanish to describe various ''Dasylirion'' species, as well as giving its name to a distilled spirit made from some species of the genus. The genus name ''Dasylirion'' is a compound word coming from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

δασύς (''dasy)'', meaning ''dense, thick'' or ''shaggy'' and λείριον (''lirion)'', meaning ''lily''. As of November 2024, the genus ''Dasylirion'' includes 23 accepted species.

Description

Dasylirion are

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

and often long lived plants. With age, most form erect or reclining trunks that vary in height, depending on the species. The leaves blades are long-linear, evergreen and numerous, and are arranged into rosettes, living for several years and remaining persistent even after dying leading to the formation of a skirt around the plant. Some species have sharp and/or curved prickles along the leaf margins. Similar to ''

Agave ''Agave'' (; ; ) is a genus of monocots native to the arid regions of the Americas. The genus is primarily known for its succulent and xerophytic species that typically form large Rosette (botany), rosettes of strong, fleshy leaves. Many plan ...

'', a genus in the same family and found in the same regions as ''Dasylirion'', the inflorescences consist of a tall stem or "mast" ("'' quiote''" in Mexico), which can grow several times the height of the plant, that grows apically from the center of the rosette. The flowers themselves are small and arranged in panicles at the end of the long, woody stem. Unlike most species of ''Agave'' that are

monocarpic Monocarpic plants are those that flower and set seeds only once, and then die. The term is derived from Greek (', "single" + , "fruit" or "grain"), and was first used by Alphonse de Candolle. Other terms with the same meaning are '' hapaxanth'' ...

, ''Dasylirion'' are

polycarpic Polycarpic plants are those that flower and set seeds many times before dying. A term of identical meaning is pleonanthic and iteroparous. Polycarpic plants are able to reproduce multiple times due to at least some portion of its meristems being ...

plants, meaning they do not die after flowering and may go on to flower many more times. ''Dasylirion'' are

dioecious Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...

, with the male and female flowers on separate plants.

Native distribution

All 23 accepted species of ''Dasylirion'' are native to Mexico, with the genus covering much of the country from the border with the Southwestern United States to the border of

Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...

in the south. Across Mexico, Dasylirion species are native to 20 states, with the greatest numbers found in

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí, officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí, is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 59 municipalities and is named after its capital city, San Luis Potosí. It ...

, followed by Chihuahua,

Coahuila Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza, is one of the 31 states of Mexico. The largest city and State Capital is the city of Saltillo; the second largest is Torreón and the thi ...

and

Zacatecas Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Zacatecas, 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas City, Zacatec ...

. The typical habitat for most species are areas of transition between

xerophilous A xerophile () is an extremophilic organism that can grow and reproduce in conditions with a low availability of water, also known as water activity. Physics Water activity, a thermodynamical value denoted , is defined as the partial water vapo ...

shrublands and coniferous and Quercus (or oak) forests, such as the

Sierra Madre Oriental pine-oak forests Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" or "mountain chain" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following: Places Mountains and mountain ranges * Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico * Sierra de las Nieve ...

. The greatest diversity in the genus is concentrated in the

Sierra Madre Oriental The Sierra Madre Oriental () is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico. The Sierra Madre Oriental is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that ...

where two regions of species richness are found (in common with both being centers of endemism), the first in the Gran Sierra Plegada, and the second in the arid zone between the states of

Querétaro Querétaro, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Querétaro, 18 municipalities. Its capital city is Querétaro Cit ...

and

Hidalgo Hidalgo may refer to: People * Hidalgo (nobility), members of the Spanish nobility * Hidalgo (surname) Places Mexico :''Most, if not all, named for Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (1753–1811)'' * Hidalgo (state), in central Mexico * Hidalgo, Coah ...

. Three species also considered native to the Southwestern United States: ''

Dasylirion wheeleri ''Dasylirion wheeleri'' (desert spoon, spoon flower, sotol, or common sotol) is a species of flowering plant in the asparagus family (Asparagaceae), native to arid environments of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. Description ...

'', commonly known as desert spoon in the USA, is native to

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, and

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, as well as Chihuahua and

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

in Mexico; ''

Dasylirion texanum ''Dasylirion texanum'', the Texas sotol and sotol, is a monocot flowering plant native to central and southwestern Texas and in Coahuila state of northeastern Mexico, including the Chihuahuan Desert. Description The grass-like plant is typicall ...

'', native to Texas as well as Coahuila, Mexico; and ''

Dasylirion leiophyllum ''Dasylirion leiophyllum'' is a species of flowering plant in the asparagus family known by the common names green sotol, smooth-leaf sotol, and smooth sotol. It is native to North America, where it occurs in Chihuahua and Coahuila

,'' native to New Mexico, Texas, as well as Chihuahua, and Coahuila in Mexico.

Human use

Dasylirion was once a major food source in the drier regions of the Southwest USA and Mexico.

Native Americans Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

would bake or roast the crown of the plant in rock-lined pits before drying and pounding to form a flour that was then made into cakes. The flowering stems can also be roasted, boiled or eaten raw. The leaves were and are sometimes still used in thatching, basket making, and weaving into hats or mats.

Sotol

Sotol Sotol is a distilled spirit made from the plants of the genus ''Dasylirion'', which grow in the Chihuahuan desert of northern Mexico, New Mexico, Arizona, and west and central Texas. Sotol liquor is known as the state spirit of Chihuahua; how ...

is a

distilled spirit Liquor ( , sometimes hard liquor), spirits, distilled spirits, or spiritous liquor are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. While the w ...

produced from various species of ''Dasylirion''. The most common species used to produce sotol are ''

'', '' Dasylirion durangense,'' '' Dasylirion cedrosanum'', and ''

,'' and less commonly with ''

'' and '' Dasylirion lucidum''. Sotol has long been the most popular distilled spirit in the Mexican states of Chihuahua,

, and

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

, but sotol was technically illegal in Mexico until 1994. After legalization and it was granted a

denomination of origin Denomination may refer to: * Religious denomination, such as a: ** Christian denomination ** Jewish denomination ** Islamic denomination ** Hindu denominations ** Buddhist denomination * Denomination (currency) * Denomination (postage stamp) ...

(DO) in 2002. According to the DO authorized by the

Mexican Institute of Industrial Property The Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (; IMPI) is the patent and trademark administration body of Mexico. The IMPI was created on 10 December 1993 by the '.Chihuahuan desert, such as the Jumano Pueblos and the

Lipan Apache Lipan Apache are a band of Apache, a Southern Athabaskan languages, Southern Athabaskan Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous people, who have lived in the Oasisamerica, Southwest and Southern Plains for centuries. At the time of European ...

have made this traditional drink for centuries. Other indigenous peoples of Chihuahua, such as the

Rarámuri The Rarámuri or Tarahumara are a group of Indigenous people of the Americas living in the state of Chihuahua in Mexico. They are renowned for their form of prayer that involves running for extended periods of time. Originally inhabitants o ...

, fermented sotol juice into a beer-like alcoholic beverage as early as 800 years ago. After baking, the crown of the plant is peeled, crushed and mixed with water before being fermented.

Distillation Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...

technology was introduced in the 16th century by early Filipino immigrants who arrived via the

Manila galleons The Manila galleon (; ) refers to the Spanish trading ships that linked the Philippines in the Spanish East Indies to Mexico (New Spain), across the Pacific Ocean. The ships made one or two round-trip voyages per year between the ports of Man ...

to the coastal regions of western

. Distinctive Filipino-type stills were initially used by Filipino coconut farmers in distilling

tubâ Tubâ () is a traditional Filipino cuisine, Filipino palm wine made from the naturally fermented sap of various species of palm trees. During the Spanish Empire, Spanish colonial period, tubâ was introduced to Guam, the Marianas, and Mexico vi ...

into " ''vino de coco''" (coconut sap liquor). This technology and the knowledge of liquor production were acquired by the indigenous peoples who worked in the coconut plantations. They were then used to distil native drinks, resulting in sotol and the similarly produced

mezcal Mezcal (, ), sometimes spelled mescal, is a liquor, distilled alcoholic beverage made from any type of agave. Agaves or magueys are endemic to the Americas and found globally as ornamental plants. The ''Agave'' genus is a member of the Agavoid ...

Species

As of June 2025, the genus ''Dasylirion'' includes 23 accepted species.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref>

Formerly placed here

*''

Nolina bigelovii ''Nolina bigelovii'' (Bigelow's nolina or beargrass) is a flowering plant native to the Southwestern United States, California, and northwest Mexico. It grows in the driest desert areas and at elevations up to . Distribution In Arizona, Nevada, ...

'' (Torr.) S.Watson (as ''D. bigelovii'' Torr.)

References

Flora of North America: ''Dasylirion''
*Bogler, D. J. (1995). Systematics of Dasylirion: taxonomy and molecular phylogeny. ''Bol. Soc. Bot. México'' 56: 69–76.

External links

{{Authority control Asparagaceae genera Taxa named by Joseph Gerhard Zuccarini Dioecious plants