Zamia integrifolia
Zamia integrifolia | |
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Leaves of Zamia integrifolia | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Gymnospermae |
Division: | Cycadophyta |
Class: | Cycadopsida |
Order: | Cycadales |
Family: | Zamiaceae |
Genus: | Zamia |
Species: | Z. integrifolia
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Binomial name | |
Zamia integrifolia L.f. | |
Synonyms[2] | |
List
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Zamia integrifolia, also known as coontie palm, is a small, tough, woody
Description
Zamia integrifolia produces reddish seed cones with a distinct acuminate tip. The leaves are 20–100 cm long, with 5-30 pairs of leaflets (pinnae). Each leaflet is linear to lanceolate or oblong-obovate, 8–25 cm long and 0.5–2 cm broad, entire or with indistinct teeth at the tip. They are often revolute, with prickly petioles. It is similar in many respects to the closely related Zamia pumila, but that species differs in the more obvious toothing on the leaflets.[3]
This is a low-growing plant, with a trunk that grows to 3–25 cm high, but is often subterranean. Over time, it forms a multi-branched cluster, with a large, tuberous root system, which is actually an extension of the above-ground stems. The leaves can be completely lost during cold periods, with the plant lying dormant in its tuberous root system, allowing this cycad to be relatively cold hardy. The plant can survive up to USDA region 8b (10° to 20°F). The stems and leaves regenerate after the cold period subsides with full foliage.[3][4]
Like other cycads, Zamia integrifolia is
Ediblity and toxicity
Edibility
Indigenous tribes of Florida like the Seminoles and Tequestas would grind the root and soak it overnight; afterwards, they would rinse it with running water for several hours to remove the rest of the water-soluble toxin cycasin. The resulting paste was then left to ferment before being dried into a powder. The resulting powder could then be used to make a bread-like substance.[5] By the late 1880s, several mills in the Miami area started to produce Florida arrowroot until their demise after the World War 1.[6]
Toxicity
The whole plant contains a toxin called
Common names
This plant has several common names. Two names,
Distribution and habitat
Zamia integrifolia inhabits a variety of habitats with well-drained sands or sandy
Taxonomy
Controversy has long existed over the classification of Zamia in Florida; at one extreme all the American populations are included in a broadly defined Zamia pumila species complex,[8] and at the other several species have been recognized under various names (e.g., Z. augustifolia, Z. floridana, Z. silvicola, and Z. umbrosa). The Flora of North America treats all of the American populations as Z. integrifolia, and all West Indian populations as other species. Genetically, the differences between populations cannot be explained by habitat variability. Studies conducted by Ward[9] showed that five different Florida populations of Z. integrifolia with identical cultivation produced distinct leaf morphology, suggesting that there may be too much genetic diversity amongst these Floridian Z. integrifolia, not to mention geographically isolated populations, to consider them a single species.
Ecology
The plant has critical importance to the
Mealybug destroyers (Cryptolaemus montrouzieri), are commonly found on Z. integrifolia. They form a mutualistic relationship by providing the plant protection from pests in exchange for food. They feed on the coonties' natural enemies, scales and mealybugs, thereby reducing the need for pesticides.[10]
Parasites
Three of the most common pests of Z. integrifolia are Florida red scales (Chrysomphalus aonidum), hemispherical scales (Saissetia coffeae) and longtailed mealybugs (Pseudococcus longispinus). When infested, the plant's growth is stunted, and it becomes covered with blackish mold. Infestations are not limited to one species; several species can be found on the same plant.[11]
Nitrogen-fixation
Since Z. integrifolia is a cycad, which are the only group of gymnosperms that form nitrogen-fixing associations, it depends on microbes as a source of nitrogen. It forms a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria, which live in specialized roots called coralloid roots and are green in color despite not actively photosynthesizing.[12] The filamentous cyanobacteria belonging to the genus Nostoc, which is able to form symbiosis with a wide range of organisms,[13] inhabits the mucilage in the microaerobic and dark intercellular zone in between the inner and outer cortex of coralloid roots. This zone is transversed and connected by elongated Zamia cells.[14] Coralloid roots are just like lateral roots, but highly specialized to contain cyanobacteria.[12]
Reproduction
Zamia species often produce more than one cone close to the tip of the stem or at the terminal of the caudex where it intersects with the cones, also called
Multiple cones
The multiple cones of Z. integrifolia may develop through three methods: sympodium, forking of the bundle system, and adventitious buds. The most common form of development is the rapid formation of cone domes on the plant's
Pollination
Z. integrifolia plants are pollinated by two species of weevils, Rhopalotria slossoni and Pharaxonotha floridana. P. floridana pollinates the plants by using the pollen-bearing strobili as food for its larvae, transporting the pollen with it. The plant can regulate the mutualistic interaction by making the seed-bearing strobilis poisonous to these larvae.[16] On the other hand, R. slossoni does not consume the pollen, but rather, takes shelter in male cones where they become dusted with pollen. They then carry over these pollen into the female cones, which becomes pollinated. Although the female cones are not consumed, there have been evidences of healed scars due to punctation in the interior of the cone, which are suspected to be caused by weevils.[17]
References
- ^ a b Bösenberg, J.D. (2022). "Zamia integrifolia". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022: e.T42164A69843040.
- ^ "Zamia integrifolia L.f." Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
- ^ a b c Linnaeus, Carl von f. 1789. Hortus Kewensis 3: 478
- ^ Whitelock, L. M. (2002). The Cycads. Portland, OR: Timber Press.
- ^ "Coontie (Florida Arrowroot) - Arca del Gusto". Slow Food Foundation. Retrieved 2020-07-06.
- ^ Agriculture, Florida Department of; Industry, Consumer Services-Division of Plant (2013-01-23). "Do You Know Coontie? Florida's Native Indians and Settlers Did". Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services - Division of Plant Industry. Retrieved 2020-07-06.
- ^ "Zamia spp Zamia cycads. Pine cone cycad PFAF Plant Database". pfaf.org. Retrieved 2020-07-06.
- ^ Eckenwalder, J. E. 1980. Taxonomy of the West Indian cycads. J. Arnold Arboretum 61: 701-722.
- ^ Ward, D.B. (1978). Rare and Endangered Biota of Florida 5: 122-124.
- ^ a b Culbert, Daniel F. (2016-09-28). "Florida Coonties and Atala Butterflies". edis.ifas.ufl.edu. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
- ^ "Lawn, Garden, and Landscape Resources - Lee County Extension". lee.ifas.ufl.edu. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
- ^ PMID 22537413.
- PMID 20459320.
- JSTOR 2432904.
- S2CID 85360270.
- ^ "UNF - UNF Landscape - Zamia floridana syn Z integrifolia or Z pumila - Coontie". www.unf.edu. Retrieved 2017-11-26.
- ^ "Beetle pollination of two species of Zamia: Evolutionary and ecological considerations (PDF Download Available)". ResearchGate. Retrieved 2017-11-26.