Coontie Palm
In-spite-of its name, the Coontie Palm is not a palm, but rather a cycad with palm and fern-like attributes.
The Coontie Palm is Florida's only native cycad. Coonties are slow grower, drought-resistant, easy to maintain, and are relatively salt tolerant. Coontie Palms are also the host plant for the rare Atala butterfly caterpillar.
This hardy Florida native shrub grows very slowly to a compact size of 2-1/2 to 3 feet tall by 3 feet wide. Reaching a mature height of 4 feet, and is often seen in the landscapes as an accent plant, a foundation planting, or a mass planting for groundcover. These are ideal plants to surround a mailbox, line a walkway, accent a tropical garden bed, or go almost anywhere you can imagine.
Because of its high drought tolerance and moderate salt tolerance, the Coontie Palm is an excellent choice for the coastal landscape.
Coonties can be planted in sun or shade.
Zone 8 11
