Zamia integrifolia
Coontie, arrowroot
Nomenclature
Common Name:
Synonym(s):
Genus species:
Family:
Zamiaceae
Plant Specifics
Form:
Size:
Life Span:
Long-lived perennial
Flower Color:
Fruit Color:
Phenology:
Noted For:
Landscaping
Recommended Uses:
Specimen plant or mass planting in border.
Considerations:
Text
Availability:
Text
Propagation:
Text
Light:
Text
Moisture Tolerance:
Always Flooded---------------------------------Extremely Dry
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Usually moist, occasional inundation -to- Very long very dry periods
Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:
Unknown
Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:
Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray
Soil or Other Substrate:
Sand
Soil pH:
Suitable to Grow In:
8A,8B,9A,9B,10A,10B,11
Ecology
Wildlife:
Larval host for the rare atala butterfly ( Eumaeus atala florida ) which is restricted to South Florida and the echo moth ( Sierarctia echo ).
Native Habitats:
Upland hardwood forests, high pine, coastal hammocks, shell middens.
Comments:
Ethnobotany:
Used by the Indians as a source of starch. Also for many years this starch was used in the making of Animal Crackers. Read more about this in 1995 Palmetto article by Roger Hammer: http://www.fnps.org/assets/pdf/palmetto/hammer_roger_l_the_coontie_and_the_atala_hairstreak_vol_15_no_4_winter_1995.pdf
General Comments:
Although palm-like in appearance, this is a cycad, a primitive group of non-flowering plants. It is listed as commercially exploited by the state of Florida.
