#coontie
LightNews LightNews
bellfarmfl.bsky.social
The Nursery.

940 plants and counting at The Bell Farm's nursery in Loxahatchee, Palm Beach County FL — Row A is 230 Florida natives: cocoplum, firebush, Simpson's stopper, wild coffee, coontie…

https://randolphscottbell.com/farm/nursery/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=flood
October 5, 2026 at 9:02 PM
newtype00.bsky.social
It's the same exact thing with coontie plants
August 21, 2026 at 3:26 AM
ginnystibolt.bsky.social
Update on the coontie that I am holding in the above photo: The leaves died shortly after the transplant, but a month later 3 new fronds emerged. Cycads are ancient, non-flowering plants & use heat for pollinators. Florida's only native cycad. greengardeningmatters.blogspot.com/2026/06/coon...
Photo of 3 fronds of bright green compound leaves growing from the ground, which is covered with pine needles and a few brown leaves. A hand is behind the fronds so they are more visible. Assorted green leaves are behind the hand. Text says, "Coontie Zamia integrifolia"
August 5, 2026 at 11:12 PM
speakforthetrees.com
An Atala butterfly appeared in the flatwoods this July — one of 16 threatened species logged this month. It vanished from nearly all of Florida by the 1960s after coontie, its sole larval host, was harvested to near-extinction for arrowroot starch. Each sighting now maps where coontie has returned.
Eastern Florida Flatwoods — Speak for the Trees
speakforthetrees.com
July 19, 2026 at 12:21 PM
blugrayheron.bsky.social
I have a ton of coontie so will be on the lookout!
July 9, 2026 at 1:13 AM
storyheadjill.bsky.social
That reminds me that I have a few coontie I grew from seed that I need to put in the ground. 💚
July 9, 2026 at 1:10 AM
craigtimes.bsky.social
The atala butterfly, once thought to be extinct, is now back in #Florida and thriving. Climate change may allow it to expand its territory www.news-press.com/story/news/e... via @kmillerweather.bsky.social
A Florida butterfly was thought extinct. Now it's thriving | Exclusive
Garden plantings of native coontie helped fuel a quiet rebound, with sightings now spreading north and peaking in Florida’s summer months.
www.news-press.com
July 9, 2026 at 1:08 AM
markasteele.bsky.social
One of my favorites, have only seen them in south Florida, but Bok Tower isn’t far from me and there’s plenty of coontie in the yard, so fingers crossed. Great pic!
July 6, 2026 at 6:05 PM
savefrogs2.bsky.social
Plant the Coontie plant, and these butterflies will show up
www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/earth-system...
A Butterfly on the Move: The Atala Butterfly and Its Coontie Connection
Southeastern Florida has historically been the stronghold of the atala butterflies in Florida, until now. It has slowly but surely fluttered its way into the backyards of Gainesville residences. Risin...
www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu
July 6, 2026 at 5:45 PM
savefrogs2.bsky.social
There are a lot of these at the Sarasota Audubon garden-- they don't really flutter about much, *everything* knows they're poisonous!

www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/earth-system...
A Butterfly on the Move: The Atala Butterfly and Its Coontie Connection
Southeastern Florida has historically been the stronghold of the atala butterflies in Florida, until now. It has slowly but surely fluttered its way into the backyards of Gainesville residences. Risin...
www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu
July 6, 2026 at 5:45 PM
sundawg76.bsky.social
They ravage my coontie plants, which I love to see! The adult in the picture is resting on one.
July 6, 2026 at 12:17 PM
lawsonspace.bsky.social
Atala caterpillars feeding on Coontie Cycad outside an office building in SW Florida. Adult butterfly inset.
June 26, 2026 at 3:31 PM
hemipepsis.bsky.social
since it's a coontie, will bug types be attracted to it?
June 23, 2026 at 11:49 AM
limecornchip.bsky.social
*fronds

it's a zamia cycad, specifically a coontie.
June 23, 2026 at 11:34 AM
drmike.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Thank you for the interest/boosts/likes!

I went back & looked at some articles about the coontie plant and its partner, the Atala Butterfly. (Wikipedia)

And now I found the photo I knew I had somewhere - this is the essence of the Atala and its life cycle […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
Photo by Fenichel A coontie plant, long slender green leaves growing from a stem, with several small orange-with-tiny-black-speckles pupae attached underneath the leaf (center). Just above, on the top of the same leaf, is an orange larva/caterpillar, with yellow spots.
June 22, 2026 at 5:45 AM
drmikenyc.bsky.social
Atala Butterfly

These are rare the U.S., once thought extinct but hanging on.
They depend upon one specific host plant, the coontie, North America's only native cycad.

Adding this to my Flickr 'Nature' album @
flic.kr/s/aHsjHHQKce

Happy Summer! (Or winter)

#fenfotos #butterfly #atala #nature
Photo by Fenichel: An atala butterfy is atop a broad brown stem among some coontie plants (in the background, green). The butterfly is facing right to show the full (right) wing and red belly. The wings are dark maroon/blank with turquoise colored 'spots' - more like blotches, all different irregular roundish shapes. Its legs/feet are grasping th top of the leaf, and you can see more 'speckles) up to its face, and two antennae on top.
June 22, 2026 at 12:52 AM
drmike.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Atala Butterfly

These are rare in N.America, once thought extinct, even in South Florida.

One reason is that they depend upon one specific plant, the coontie.

From Florida Wildflower Foundation:

> "Coontie (Zamia integrifolia), North America’s only native […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
Photo by Fenichel: An atala butterfy is atop a broad brown stem among some coontie plants (in the background, green). The butterfly is facing right to show the full (right) wing and red belly. The wings are dark maroon/blank with turquoise colored 'spots' - more like blotches, all different irregular roundish shapes. Its legs/feet are grasping th top of the leaf, and you can see more 'speckles) up to its face, and two antennae on top.
June 22, 2026 at 12:44 AM
ginnystibolt.bsky.social
Yes, & when the coontie was harvested to near extinction, the Atala butterfly was thought to be extinct as well until Roger Hammer found a coontie with Atala caterpillars on Virginia Key & bred them & then gave them to botanic gardens & wild spaces. greengardeningmatters.blogspot.com/2026/06/coon...
Coonties: Florida's only native cycad & only Atala butterfly host plant
Coontie is a popular native for parking lots like this hospital lot in Jacksonville, because it doesn't need trimming to maintain this heigh...
greengardeningmatters.blogspot.com
June 11, 2026 at 12:21 PM
savefrogs2.bsky.social
Coontie is the host plant of the rare Atala butterfly:

www.wusf.org/environment/...
This tiny butterfly was thought to be gone in Florida. Gardeners and naturalists brought it back
Atalas are small butterflies with inky black wings that are speckled with iridescent blue spots, and a bright red body.
www.wusf.org
June 11, 2026 at 12:15 PM
ginnystibolt.bsky.social
Coontie (Zamia integrifolia), a cycad native to Florida has an interesting history. Despite the toxins, the fat underground stems were used by indigenous peoples to produce a starch. Later, it was over-harvested to make Animal Crackers.
Read: greengardeningmatters.blogspot.com/2026/06/coon...
Photo of a hand holding a fat underground stem of a plant. There are 3 coumpound leaves sprouting from one end of the stem & some small roots from the bottom. A cement driveway is in the background. Text says, "Underground stem of a coontie (Zamia integrifolia)"
June 11, 2026 at 12:09 PM
nightoffallengods.com
#WholesomeWednesday
This was also at my usual Sunday coffee spot that has a bunch of Coontie Palms planted outside around their sitting area so it was chock full of endangered Atala Butterflies and that made me really happy too.
June 3, 2026 at 2:45 PM
bobwmfl.bsky.social
Multiple #Atala #butterflies (Eumaeus atala) emerging today from their chrysalises hanging from its only host plant, the #FloridaNativePlant #coontie (Zamia integrifolia), the only native #cycad in the continental US. Atalas were once thought to be extinct. 🌱 #Plants #Insects #Butterfly #MyGarden
June 3, 2026 at 1:56 PM
ginnystibolt.bsky.social
Coontie(Zamia integrifolia), an ancient plant native to Florida, has an interesting history of over exploitation & the near extinction of the Atala butterfly (Eumaeus atala). Today, it's widely planted because it's attractive & easy to grow.
Read: greengardeningmatters.blogspot.com/2026/06/coon...
Photo of a densely planted space between a sidewalk and access road in a parking lot. There are 2 trees, but most of the plants are bright green with fern-like compound leaves. A hedge and parked cars are in the background to the left. Text says, "Coonties Zamia integrifolia"
June 1, 2026 at 2:02 PM
bobwmfl.bsky.social
The #Atala #butterflies (Eumaeus atala) have been busy! These pupae are hanging from its only host plant, the #FloridaNativePlant #coontie (Zamia integrifolia), the only native #cycad in the continental US. Atalas were once thought to be extinct. 🌱 #Plants #Insects #Butterfly #MyGarden
May 27, 2026 at 11:19 PM
grantimatter.bsky.social
www.novocollegian.org/new-commence...

#NewCollegeOfFlorida

Alt-graduation.

Renewal of what once was extinct.
Screen grab of a press release: “The students selected the Atala butterfly and the coontie plant as a symbolic image for this year’s event. Once nearly extinct in the Sarasota area, the Atala butterfly returned and flourished after the restoration of its native habitat and the reintroduction of the coontie plant on which it depends. For the graduating class, that image captures the spirit of this moment: survival through care, renewal through community, and the possibility of return even after loss.”
May 19, 2026 at 2:49 AM