Scientific Note: Rediscovery Of The Endangered Okeechobee Gourd (Cucurbita Okeechobeensis) Along The St. Johns River, Florida, Where Last Reported By William Bartram In 1774

The Okee chobee Gourd, Cucurbita okeechobeensis (Small) L. H. Bailey, is a robust, often overwintering, herbaceous vine endemic to Florida. Though originally observed by William Bartram in 1774 along the St. Johns River, in the eastern peninsula, it has since been known only from the marshy shores of Lake Okeechobee, south-central peninsular Florida. It has now been rediscovered in small numbers, still extant along the St. Johns, where last seen by Bartram two and-a-quarter centuries previously.