Search Fact Sheets Virginia Tech Dendrology

sotol Liliaceae Dasylirion leiophyllum Engelm. ex Trel. Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet symbol: DALE2
Leaf: Evergreen, flexible and strap-like, up to 3 1/2 feet long and 1 to 3 inches wide, glossy green on both surfaces, the leaf margins armed with red-brown prickles, tips not pointed but frayed.
Flower: Greenish white, clustered at the tip of a 5-16 foot tall upright woody inflorescence, appearing mid-summer.
Fruit: Small oval 3-parted capsules, drying to gray-brown, 1/4 inch.
Form: Dense, mounded clumps of leaves that reach 4 feet in height on a short trunk, with upright inflorescences to 16 feet.
 Looks like: soaptree yucca - Torrey's yucca

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Additional Range Information: Dasylirion leiophyllum is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDAFS FEIS Silvics - USDA Plants Database
All material 2021 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information