The Coontie is a slow growing medium shrub-like plant that attains approximately 3' - 4' in height as well as width. It grows naturally in many areas and is used as a ground cover in landscapes here in Florida. Coontie is the larval host plant for the endangered Atala Butterfly which will completely strip the foliage but the plants always recover nicely. The brown female and male cones are 3" to 6" in length and occur on separate plants. The seeds are a bright orange color. This plant is drought tolerant once established and needs no fertilizer or water thereafter.

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If your Coontie is a Florida native, this is your plant. Based upon the current taxonomic scrutiny, as listed by the Catalog of Life, Zamia integrifolia is the accepted name, with Z. floridana (thin-leaf form) and Z. umbrosa (wide-leaf form) listed as synonyms.

Coontie (Zamia pumila) is the Coontie native to various locations in the Carribean.

The Coontie of Florida by Tom Broome provides a good explanation of the taxonomy.

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