date. Kelly (1951) states even more emphatically that 
the evidence of Lagenaria in the New World points to 
early contacts between the two hemispheres. Although 
such a Pre-Columbian diffusion is a possible explanation, 
it is not the only one. Both authors refer, to but tend to 
minimize, the possibility of Lagenaria having floated to 
the shores of the Americas. It is, therefore, of interest 
to review some of the evidence for such a possibility. 
The fruits of Lagenaria, like those of other genera of 
the Cucurbitaceae, are structurally adapted to dispersal 
by water. Although there is no experimental evidence 
to show how long a well-seasoned Lagenaria fruit will 
remain afloat, the buoyancy of these fruits and the im- 
pervious nature of their shell walls make it highly prob- 
able that they could float for an indefinite period. 
There are many references in the literature to the trans- 
ference of fruits and seeds from one location to another 
by means of ocean currents. One often quoted example 
is the presence on the coast of Norway of cucurbitaceous 
fruits and seeds from the American tropics carried there 
by the Gulf Stream. Included among these have been 
bottle-gourds (Ridley, 1980, p. 294). 
Guppy (1906, p. 570) tells of having observed ‘‘small 
calabashes and bottle-gourds’’ on the beaches and in the 
ocean off the coast of Fiyi. He experimented with one 
of these and proved that it was still buoyant even after 
it had floated in sea water for two months, and that some 
of the seeds germinated when planted in soil. He iden- 
tifies this fruit as probably one of the species of Cucur- 
bita that produces hard-shelled fruits. ‘This genus is 
closely related to Lagenaria. 
Guppy further reports (loc. cit., p. 125) the presence 
of a small bottle-gourd in the Guayaquil River and on 
the adjacent sea beaches in Ecuador. He states that 
these fruits will float for many months and that the seeds 
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