Crash course on the Coontie, a native plant species in Florida! Despite its palm-like appearance, the Coontie belongs to the Cycad family, a group of ancient non-flowering plants that have existed since the time of dinosaurs. While toxic throughout, indigenous Seminole tribes developed methods to safely extract the nutritious starch from Coontie roots, which was widely used as flour for baking. Increased demand from industrial food systems resulted in the Coontie being classified as "commerciall