baseball-sized fruit, this plant is a living link to our past, with a seed dispersal mystery. Revisiting the Rare Okeechobee Text and photos by Kenneth Setzer T 50 THE TROPICAL Garden A climbing vine with Gourd he rare Florida Okeechobee gourd grows in only two places in the world: The southern shores of Lake Okeechobee and the St. John’s River, both in Florida. It’s rare for the usual reasons, plus one that may surprise you. This plant provides a living link to our past, but before we time travel, it’s useful to think like the plants and animals under consideration. Why does a plant produce fruit that look or taste or behave a certain way? These features are not coincidental; it’s all about survival and reproduction. The purpose of fruit is to aid in dispersing seeds. Some seeds float, some are released to the wind, some stick to passing creatures, some appeal to
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