Species · genus Zamia · Zamiaceae

Florida Arrowroot

Zamia integrifolia L.f.

Also known as: Bay-rush · Comfort Root · Coontie · Florida Coontie · Wild Sago

Growth habit

subshrub

Native range

Bahamas, Cayman Is., Cuba, Florida, Georgia

Zamia integrifolia — reference photo — Everglades NPS from Homestead, Florida, United States · Public domain

Cultivars of Z. integrifolia

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under Z. integrifolia yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

A Native Florida Cycad

Zamia integrifolia is a low, subshrubby cycad rather than a true palm, despite its palm-like look. It belongs to the family Zamiaceae, within the ancient cycad order Cycadales.

Source: Kew

A Southeastern Coastal Range

This species is native to a compact stretch of the subtropics: southeastern Georgia down through Florida, and on to the Bahamas, Cuba, and the Cayman Islands. It grows there as part of the subtropical biome, and the accepted name was first published in 1789 in the Hortus Kewensis.

Source: Kew

Habit and Classification

As a subshrub, it keeps a modest, ground-hugging form rather than reaching tree size. Botanically it sits in the cycad subclass Cycadidae, and the species itself is further divided into five accepted varieties, including the typical variety integrifolia found in Florida, the Bahamas, Cuba, and the Cayman Islands.

Source: Kew

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 10-21d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Bright, indirect

Water

≈ every 21 days

Humidity

Medium

Temperature

15–29 °C

Soil mix

Gritty, fast-draining sandy mix with added pumice or perlite

Propagation

Division of offsets or seed; slow to establish

Fertilizing

Light balanced feed 2-3 times across the growing season

Growth rate

Slow

Flowering

Produces cones rather than flowers; rare indoors

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Toxic to cats & dogs & humans

Cycads (Zamiaceae) contain cycasin and other glycosides that are highly toxic, especially the seeds, causing liver failure if ingested. This is where toxicity lives: every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

Everglades NPS from Homestead, Florida, United States · Public domain

Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 10-21d) · ai:claude-fable-5 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (family inference)

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Florida Arrowroot yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — and a clear photo of your plant are exactly what keep this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.