The Okeechobee Gourd
or Indian Pumpkin
Photo credit: Sherry Williams/Seminole County
The Endangered Plants of
Florida
The Okeechobee Gourd
or Indian Pumpkin
Cucurbita okeechobeensis
Florida, La Florida, as it was named by Spanish explorer
Ponce De Leon, in the early 1500's, means Land of the
Flowers.
We certainly do attempt to live up to the name!
This very rare Gourd was
in the past found primarily
along the southern shores
of Lake Okeechobee
in Alligator nests among
the Pond Apple orchards.
The Okeechobee Gourd Flower
Photo credit: Sherry Williams/Seminole County
Okeechobee Gourd
Photo credit: Marc Minno/USFWS
However by the 1930's,
this Habitat had been 95% decimated
by the growing spread of
agriculture in the area.
In 1994, the Gourd was
discovered along the St. John's River
in Volusia county, near
willows and elderberries
and again in the nests of
Alligators.
An immature Okeechobee Gourd
Photo credit:
sfwmd.gov
The Okeechobee Gourd
remains an elusive,
but beautiful reminder of the very fragile
Ecosystem
which exists in Florida, indeed in the whole of Earth.
Places to learn more:
Agricultural Biodiversity web log
Fire Threatens Wild Gourd
Business Net
Rediscovery of Endangered Okeechobee Gourd
Center for Plant Conservation
Plant Profile
Find Articles
Rediscovery of Endangered Okeechobee Gourd
Florida DEP
Drought and
Tree Planting Help the Gourd
University of Florida
Okeechobee Gourd
USDA
Plant Profile
Walking with the Alligators
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Last edited February 7, 2021
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