Zamia integrifolia

arrowroot, coontie

Zamiaceae

Synonyms:  Zamia pumila

wildlife plant  


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Plant Specifics

Form: shrub
Life Span: long-lived perennial
Size: Height: 2-3 ft    Width: 3-5 ft
Fruit Color: fruit color   fruit color      orange,brown
Phenology: evergreen
Noted for: Interesting foliage

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Specimen plant or mass planting in border.

Considerations:

Grows slowly.

Propagation:

Seed and root division

Availability: Quality nurseries, Native nurseries, FNPS plant sales, Seed, Friends
Light: light requirement   light requirement  
Moisture Tolerance:
moisture_bar
Salt Tolerance: Moderately salt tolerant
Soil or other substrate: Sand
Soil pH Range: circum neutral

Ecology

Wildlife:
wildlife plant  

Larval host for atala butterfly (Eumaeus atala 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:

USDA zones are based on minimum winter temperatures

Suitable to grow in:
   8A,8B,9A,9B,10A,10B,11

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

Other 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.