Zamia integrifolia

coontie

Coontie is a recognizable Florida native commonly used in landscapes throughout the state. It is able to adapt to a range of conditions but is susceptible to certain types of scale, so treatment for this is often necessary. Although it is an attractive plant, it is also quite toxic, containing several poisonous compounds that have been used in homicides and also resulted in accidental deaths of pets and children, who are often drawn to taste the bright red seeds produced by the female plants.

Toxicity is often relative as many species might be poisoned after ingestion while others depend on it as a source of nourishment. When it comes to coontie, certain bird species disperse the seeds after ingestion of the fruits, and the endangered atala butterfly depends upon the leaves of the plant as its sole food source during the larval stage.

Despite its poisonous properties, the Seminole used the plant as a major food source. The part of the plant eaten is the underground stem, and it is only edible after specific processing. This processing includes mashing the stem and repeatedly leaching the toxins using water in some way (boiling, rinsing and squeezing, etc.). It leaves one wondering how much trial and error was involved in figuring out the right process... Although I could not find a video of this specific plant being processed, here is one of a certain "sago palm" being processed for its starch in Indonesia in a way likely not too different from coontie starch processing and preparation by the Seminole:

Ironically, starch made from the plant’s underground stems was used to absorb poisons from wounds, especially those from poison-tipped arrows, the source of its alternative common name “arrowroot.”

The coontie became much more widely known during World War I. Soldiers who were gassed could not keep their food down for a certain period of time after being gassed. This led to an urgent search to find what, if anything, a gassed soldier could eat. Coontie flour was the first and one of the only food sources found to be edible for these soldiers. As a result, factories were quickly built in Florida to process as much coontie as possible to be made into flour and biscuits. The end of WWI marked the end of the coontie flour industry as well.

Coontie populations were negatively affected by harvesting during the early 1900s and continue to be negatively affected today through development. Our botanic garden has partnered with Montgomery Botanical Center in Coral Gables, FL to grow coontie plants harvested from seed from wild populations throughout the state in case they are needed to breed plants for reintroduction into these areas.