The Florida Arrowroot, or Zamia integrifolia, is a fantastic shrubby cycad from the Southern United States and Caribbean Islands. Unlike many cycads, this plant doesn’t have much of a trunk or other strong architectural features. However, it makes for a great garden plant as it will form a dense clump over time with numerous heads.Zami integrifolia is called the Florida Arrowroot as it is one of several tropical plants used to make the starchy food product arrowroot. Native Americans used the plant as a food source for thousands of years. Early European settlers decimated wild populations, with a single factory in Miami said to have processed 10-15 tons of root per day at the peak of the production. It would take decades for a plant to produce even a kilo of harvestable stem! Note that although edible, all parts of the plant are poisonous unless properly prepared.
