Florida arrowroot facts for kids

Florida arrowroot is the old commercial name for a special edible starch. This starch comes from a small plant called Zamia integrifolia, also known as "coontie." Coontie is a type of plant called a cycad, and it grows naturally in North America.

Making Starch from Coontie Plants

Like many cycad plants, Zamia integrifolia is naturally poisonous. It has a toxin that can upset your stomach and affect your nervous system. However, people learned how to remove this toxin carefully. Native American groups, like the Tequesta and Mayaimi Indians, the Seminole Indians, and the Maroons, used the roots and underground stems of the coontie plant to make this starch.

To make the starch, they would first grind the coontie root into a pulp using a wooden mortar and pestle. Then, they would soak the pulp in water and drain it. The liquid was allowed to dry, leaving behind a yellowish powder. This powder was then used to prepare different foods. When companies started making the starch, they would repeat the soaking and draining process many times. This made the starch a whiter color.

The History of Florida Arrowroot

People in South Florida started making Florida arrowroot commercially in the 1830s. They gathered the coontie roots from wild plants. The starch was sold as "Florida arrowroot" for many years. However, in 1925, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stopped this practice. The last factory in Florida that made "coontie starch" was destroyed by a big storm, the 1926 Miami hurricane, in 1926.

Why It Was Called "Arrowroot"

The name "arrowroot" was used for marketing. Real arrowroot is a well-known, high-quality starch. By calling the coontie starch "Florida arrowroot," companies hoped people would think it was just as good. Because of this, Zamia integrifolia is sometimes still called Florida arrowroot today.

Images for kids

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  This image shows a Zamia starch grain found at an archaeological site in Puerto Rico. It was viewed using a special microscope called a TEM.