Zamia integrifolia
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Coontie, Arrowroot
Zamiaceae
Also known as Zamia pumila, Zamia floridana
Plant Specifics
| Form: | Shrub | |
| Size: | 2-3 ft tall by 3-5 ft wide | |
| Life Span: | Long-lived perennial | |
| Flower Color: | NA | |
| Fruit Color: | Orange,brown | |
| Phenology: | Evergreen. Long-lived. | |
| Noted for: | Interesting foliage |
Landscaping
| Recommended Uses: | Specimen plant or mass planting in border. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Considerations: | Grows slowly. Seeds, foliage, and roots are toxic. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Propagation: | Seed and root division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Availability: | Friends, Native nurseries, FNPS plant sales, Quality nurseries, Seed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Light: | Full Sun, Part Shade, Shade | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Moisture Tolerance: |
always floodedextremely dry |
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| (Usually moist, occasional inundation ----- to ----- Very long very dry periods) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Moisture Tolerance: | Usually moist, occasional inundation ----- to ----- Very long very dry periods | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Salt Water Flooding Tolerance: | Tolerant of inundation with brackish water | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Salt Spray/ Salty Soil Tolerance: | Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Soil or other substrate: | Sand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Soil pH: | Acidic to circum-neutral | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ecology
| Wildlife: |
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| Insects: | 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. |
Distribution and Planting Zones
Natural Range in Florida
USDA Zones
Suitable to grow in:
10A 10B 11 8A 8B 9A 9B
USDA zones are based on minimum winter temperatures
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. |