Coontie

Because of its high drought tolerance and moderate salt tolerance, the coontie is an excellent choice for the coastal landscape. Coonties are the only cycad native to Florida, and are also the sole food source for larvae of the rare Atala butterfly.

UF/IFAS Sites

• Cycads in the South Florida Landscape
• Cycads Provide an Exotic Prehistoric Look
• Plants Growing in the Pasco Extension Demonstration Landscape Garden

UF/IFAS Publications

• 50 Common Native Plants Important in Florida's Ethnobotanical History
• Atala (Butterfly), Atala Hairstreak, Coontie Hairstreak, Eumaeus atala Röber (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)
• Atala Butterfly Comes Back From Near Extinction
• Coontie: An Excellent Groundcover Plant (PDF)
• Coontie, in "A New Leaf" Newsletter (PDF pg.3)
• Florida Coonties and Atala Butterflies
• The Jurassic Garden (PDF)
• Magnesium Deficiency in Coontie (Image)
• Natives, from "The Green Thumb" Radio Program (PDF)
• Zamia floridana Coontie

Other Sites

• The Cycad Society
• Cycads: Living Fossils--Fossil News – Journal of Avocational Paleontology
• The Coontie of Florida--Palm & Cycad Societies of Florida
• Grow Your Own Zamia Floridana--Ocala Star Banner
• Zamia integrifolia--Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney Australia's Cycad Pages