Florida arrowroot

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Edible starch

title: "Florida arrowroot" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["edible-thickening-agents", "plants-used-in-native-american-cuisine", "zamia"] description: "Edible starch" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_arrowroot" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Edible starch ::

Florida arrowroot was the commercial name of an edible starch extracted from Zamia integrifolia (coontie), a small cycad native to North America.

Use

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Almidon_arqueologico_de_Zamia_amblyphyllidia_Artef._4._UTU-27.jpg" caption="TEM]] of a ''Zamia'' starch grain found at an archaeological site in [[Puerto Rico"] ::

Like other cycads, Zamia integrifolia is poisonous, producing a toxin that affects the gastrointestinal tract and nervous system. The toxin can however be removed by careful leaching, and the roots and half-buried stems of this cycad were used by Native American people (notably the Tequesta and Mayaimi Indians, the Seminole Indians and the Maroons) to produce this starch. The root is typically prepared by grinding (macerating) it using a wooden mortar and pestle. The pulp is then saturated in water and drained. The drained fluid is allowed to dry and the resulting yellowish powder is used in the preparation of various foods. In commercial production, multiple macerations achieved a whiter color.

Commercial production of the starch (using roots gathered from wild plants) occurred in South Florida, from the 1830s until the 1920s. The starch was sold as Florida arrowroot{{cite book |last=Lounsberry |first=Alice |author2=Ellis Rowan |author3=Marian Ellis Ryan Rowan |year=1901 |title=Southern Wild Flowers and Trees: Together with Shrubs, Vines and Various Forms of Growth Found Through the Mountains, the Middle District and the Low Country of the South |publisher=Frederick A. Stokes Company |location=New York |isbn=0-394-49638-8 |pages=570 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/keytochinesecook00kuoi/page/570

Etymology

The reference to arrowroot, a well known and high quality starch, was a marketing ploy. Because of this use, Zamia integrifolia is sometimes known as Florida arrowroot.

References

Taylor, Jean. (1985). "Villages of South Dade". B. Kennedy.

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