keys to the vascular plants of east texas - Botanical Research ...

DASYLIRION Zucc. SOTOL, SHAGGY-LILY
DASYLIRION/NOLINACEAE
751
AA genus of ca. 17 species (Bogler 2002) of fibrous, prickly-leaved species of arid regions of the
sw U.S. and Mexico; a number are cultivated in xerophyte gardens. The trunks of some species
were used in construction and as fuel, and the leaves have been used for thatching, baskets, etc.
The sugar-rich spongy interiors of the trunks and leaf bases have been used as a food for cattle
(during droughts) and humans (Standley 1920). The leaves were trimmed and the remaining
“heads” (including pith and leaf bases) were roasted in pits in the ground or otherwise cooked
and were widely used as food in the desert southwest. A liquor known as sotol (with strong
odor and peculiar taste) is made from Dasylirion in a process similar to mescal and tequila production
from Agave (distilled from the baked and fermented “heads”); it was widely smuggled
into the U.S. during prohibition (Standley 1920; Bogler 1998a, 2002). (Greek: dasy, thick, dense,
or shaggy, and lirion, lily, in reference to the old leaves that hang on the trunk and give the
plant a shaggy appearance—Starr 1999 or to the compact arrangement of flowers in the inflorescence—Bogler
2002)
REFERENCES: Trelease 1911; Bogler 1994, 1995, 1998b, 2002; Starr 1999.
Dasylirion texanum Scheele, (of Texas), TEXAS SOTOL, SOTOL. Perennial with short trunk often
buried in the ground or to 0.5(–1.5) m tall; leaves numerous, in a rosette, (0.7–)0.9–1.3 m long, 8–
14 mm wide (not including prickles), � rigid, marginally armed with antrorse, curved, spinelike
prickles 1–3 mm long, apically splitting into conspicuous fibers; flowering stem 2–4 m
long, terminated by a narrow panicle 0.6–0.9 m long; flowers functionally unisexual (species
partly dioecious); perianth ca. 1.5–2 mm long, whitish or greenish, the segments minutely
toothed; fruit a 3-winged, 1-seeded, indehiscent samara, 5.5–7 mm long. Dry rocky areas; Bexar,
Comal (Turner et al. 2003), and Travis (Carr 2002a) cos. near extreme w margin of East TX;
mainly Edwards Plateau and Trans-Pecos; in the U.S. known only from TX, also Mexico. Jun–
Jul. Cattle are reported to be able to feed on the “heads” if the leaves are burned off (Vines 1960).
NOLINA Michx. BEAR-GRASS
Polygamo-dioecious perennials with woody crowns; leaves numerous, in a basal rosette, linear,
with margins smooth or serrulate; panicle stalked, held among or well above the leaves; perianth
small, whitish to yellowish green, 1.8–3.5 mm long; fruit a � inflated, 3-lobed capsule;
seeds � round, 2.6–4.2 mm in diam.
AA primarily sw North American genus of 23–30 species, with species ranging from the se
U.S. n to Colorado, w to California, and s into Mexico (Bogler 1998a; Irish & Irish 2000; Hess
2002); some are used as ornamentals. (Named for Abbé C.P. Nolin, an 18th century French agriculturalist,
arboriculturist, and director of the royal nurseries—Hess 2002)
REFERENCES: Trelease 1911; Thorne 1965; Hess 2002; Judd 2003.
1. Leaves 4–12 mm wide, flattened in cross section, the margins strongly serrulate; inflorescence
held well above the leaves; capsules 6–10 mm long _______________________________ N. lindheimeriana
1. Leaves 2–4(–7) mm wide, roundish with one flattened side in cross section, the margins smooth
to remotely toothed; inflorescence among the leaves; capsules 3–4 mm long __________________ N. texana
Nolina lindheimeriana (Scheele) S. Watson, (for Ferdinand Jacob Lindheimer, 1809–1879, German-born
TX collector), DEVIL’S-SHOESTRING, LINDHEIMER’S BEAR-GRASS, RIBBON-GRASS,
LINDHEIMER’S NOLINA. Perennial 60–180 cm tall, with woody crown; leaves narrow and elongate,
30–100 cm long, flat, soft, with smooth surfaces and serrulate margins, the teeth directed forward;
seeds loose in capsule. Limestone outcrops, in sun or shade; Bexar, Comal, Fayette, Travis,
Williamson (Turner et al. 2003), and Bell (J. Stanford, pers. comm.) cos. near w margin of East
TX; mainly Edwards Plateau; endemic to TX (Kartesz 1999; Carr 2002b, 2002c) or nearly so