a tropical Floridian cycad (Zamia floridana) with underground trunks that yield a starch
See coontie in American Heritage Dictionary 4
(ko͞onˈtē)
noun
Any of several evergreen species of the genus Zamia native to southern Florida, Mexico, and the West Indies, having compound leaves, unisexual cones, and conspicuously thickened underground stems that yield starch resembling arrowroot. Also called Florida arrowroot, Seminole bread.