Luffa

Luf'fa. A small genus of tropical Old World gourds, grown chiefly for their ornamental fruits.

Description
Tendril-bearing, quick-growing, herbaceous vines. Leaves alternate, 5- to 7-lobed. Flowers yellowish or whitish, male flowers in racemes, the female solitary. Petals 5. Fruit with a dry or papery rind, the interior fibrous. The dried, fibrous, cucumber- or club-shaped skeletons of the fruit are sold in tropical markets to be used as sponges.

How to Grow
Start seeds indoors in peat pots 4-6 weeks before last frost. Transplant when soil is warm. Run vines up trees or over buildings; they grow too long for a trellis. On the ground, the gourds will grow crooked and clubby. These tropical plants prefer warm weather.

Luffa acutangula
Angled Luffa ; Sing-Kwa . Vines 10-15 ft. (3.0-4.5 m) long. Leaves very rough, not as large as in L. aegyptica , more angled than lobed. Flowers yellow, showy, 3 in. (7.5 cm) wide. Fruit club-shaped, 9-12 in. (22.5-30.0 cm) long, ridged, the black seeds not margined. Old World tropics. Tender annual.

Luffa aegyptica
Sponge Gourd ; Dishcloth Gourd . Vine 8-15 ft. (2.4-4.5 m) long. Leaves 5-12 in. (12.5-30.0 cm) long, almost circular, with 3-7 lobes, the margins toothed. Flowers yellow, showy, 3 in. (7.5 cm) wide. Fruit cucumber-shaped, 12-18 in. (30-45 cm) long, the black seeds margined. Also known as L. cylindrica . Old World tropics. Tender annual.

The noun has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: the dried fibrous part of the fruit of a plant of the genus Luffa; used as a washing sponge or strainer
  Synonyms: loofa, loofah, loufah sponge

Meaning #2: any of several tropical annual climbers having large yellow flowers and edible young fruits; grown commercially for the mature fruit's dried fibrous interior that is used as a sponge
  Synonyms: dishcloth gourd, sponge gourd, rag gourd, strainer vine

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Luffa
Egyptian luffa with nearly mature fruit
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Cucurbitales
Family:	Cucurbitaceae
Genus:	Luffa Mill.
Species
Luffa acutangula (Angled Luffa, Ridged Luffa, Vegetable Gourd) Luffa aegyptiaca / Luffa cylindrica (Smooth Luffa, Egyptian Luffa, Dishrag Gourd, Sponge Gourd Loofa) Luffa operculata (Wild Loofa, Sponge Cucumber)

The luffa, loofah, or lufah (from Arabic لوف) are tropical and subtropical vines comprising the genus Luffa. The fruit of at least two species, Luffa acutangula and Luffa aegyptiaca (Luffa cylindrica), is grown to be harvested before maturity and eaten as a vegetable, popular in Asia and Africa.

The Luffa acutangula is commonly known as ridged gourd and is called 'توری' in Urdu, "bhol" in Assamese, 絲瓜 si¹gua¹ in Mandarin Chinese, Turai or Tori (तोरी) in Hindi, parteek (कारी) in Nepali, Jhinga in Bengali, Janhi(ଜନ୍ହି) in Oriya, gisoda or turiya in Gujarati, Beera kaya (బీర కాయ) in Telugu, Heeray kayi in Kannada, peechinga (പീച്ചിങ്ങ) in Malayalam, Dodaka (दोडका) or Ghosavala (घोसावळं) in Marathi, Ghosale in Konkani, Peerkankaai (பீர்கங்காய்) in Tamil, Wetakolu in Sinhala, Mướp in Vietnamese language, Patola in Tagalog, Kabatiti in Ilocano, Susemi (수세미) in Korean, and Pitulo in Padang or Minangkabau, Gambas or Oyong in Indonesian language or Koinkon in Yoruba language.

Luffa species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Hypercompe albicornis.

Contents 1 Uses 2 Gallery 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

Uses

The fruit section of L. aegyptiaca may be allowed to mature and used as a bath or kitchen sponge after being processed to remove everything but the network of xylem. Marketed as luffa or loofah, the sponge is used like a body scrub. This version is called lifah in Arabic, bholor jaal in Assamese, dhundul in Bengali, ghiya tori or nerua in Hindi. Softly-textured luffa sponges are not derived from the luffa fruit, but are manufactured by folding in several layers of soft mesh-like fabric into a cloud-like shape; commonly used in tandem with shower soaps.

Its juice is used as an effective^{[citation needed]} natural remedy for jaundice. The juice is obtained by pounding the bitter luffa and squeezing it through a cloth. Bitter luffa seeds and dry crusts are also available and can be used for the same purpose.

In China and the Philippines, the Luffa or Patola is eaten as a green vegetable in various dishes.

In Paraguay panels are made out of luffa combined with other vegetable matter and recycled plastic. These can be used to create furniture and construct houses.^[1]

Gallery

A bag of natural luffas on an organic farm.

Luffa acutangula seeds. Each division of the ruler is 1 mm. Seeds of Luffa aegyptica look very similar.

A luffa sponge whose coarse texture helps with skin polishing.

Luffa section magnified 100 times

See also

• Gourd
• Okra
• Multilingual list of Indian Vegetables, spices & grains

References

1. ^ Recyclable homes, Rolex Awards 2008 [1]

External links

• Multilingual taxonomic information at the University of Melbourne
• Luffa aegyptiaca at Floridata
• Luffa Information

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