DASYLIRION longissimum

Elegant and robust evergreen perennial plant, slow growing, with a bushy habit in the juvenile phase and more like a palm over time, native to Mexico and the United States: when fully developed it can grow more than 4 meters tall and just over 2 meters large, assuming a funny shape, that of a trunk surmounted by a tuft of grass, which made it earn the common name of "Mexican grass tree". It has a single large woody stem on top of which there is a rounded crown consisting of a rosette of numerous narrow, long and flexible leaves, dark green with no thorns. Unpredictably, but always at an advanced age and in any case between spring and summer, a slender stem rises a few meters, ending with a showy panicle inflorescence, composed of minute white flowers in the male specimens and reddish in color in the female ones: this plant is in fact dioecious.

It prefers sunny positions and also adapts to the shade as long as it is bright. It tolerates long dry periods and the brackish winds of coastal gardens. Also resistant to low winter temperatures, especially if without environmental humidity: where the winters become more rigid, choose a well-sheltered position or provide protection or shelter in a cool and bright environment. In late spring we can intervene by eliminating dry or broken leaves, making sure that the crown retains a perfect spherical shape. Its slow growth rate, as well as its elegant bearing make it a suitable plant and often used in pots and large containers on terraces and balconies; but it is certainly in the open ground that this essence gives its best, both alone and associated with cacti and succulents in general, such as agaves, aloes and yuccas for example, to recreate desert scenarios with simple maintenance in corners of our garden.