coontie (SPC Florida Plants )

coontie

Zamia integrifolia

Summary ²

Coontie is adapted to growing in well-drained soils. It was primarily found in open pinelands, hammocks, pine oak woods, scrub forests and coastal woodlands. Intensive land development has reduced the ranges of both forms. They are now uncommon in their natural habitats. Highly unusual and distinctive cycad resembling a small, leafy, stemless palm, and extremely variable in size from 1-4 feet tall and as wide or wider than it is tall. The recurved pinnately compound leaves are dark green, leathery, and up to 3 feet long. There are 5 to 30 alternate to opposite pairs of leaflets on a rachis. Leaflets are up to 6 inches long. The coontie is a gymnosperm, that produces seeds without flowers. It is also dioecious, with male and female cones borne on separate plants. The sex of a plant cannot be determined until the plant produces cones. Male cones are long-cylindrical, up to 7 inches long, and often clustered together in groups of 2 or more. Female cones are a stout-ovoid, typically 3 to 4 1/2 inches long and often singularly borne. The exterior faces have hexagonal pattern. Male cones are quick to shed. Female cones remain on a plant for a year or more. They develop seeds with a fleshy red to orange coat. Florida’s indigenous people and later the European settlers used an extended process to extract an edible starch from the coontie’s large caudex. The common name, "coontie," is derived from the Seminole phrase "conti hateka," which means white root or white bread. Another name for the coontie is "Seminole bread.”

Sources and Credits

(c) t_kok, all rights reserved
Adapted by gaskill from a work by (c) t_kok, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

Range Map

iNat Map

Ecosystem	Interior uplands
Fruit	Black, Orange
Leaf arrangement	Alternate, Opposite
Leaf type	Pinnately compound
Leaf shape	Linear

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