''Luffa acutangula'' is a

cucurbitaceous The Cucurbitaceae (), also called cucurbits or the gourd family, are a plant family consisting of about 965 species in 101 genera.

vine that is commercially grown for its unripe fruits as a vegetable. Mature fruits are used as natural cleaning sponges. Its fruit slightly resembles a

cucumber The cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the family Cucurbitaceae that bears cylindrical to spherical fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.zucchini Zucchini (; : ''zucchini'' or ''zucchinis''), courgette () or ''Cucurbita pepo'' is a summer squash, a Vine, vining herbaceous plant whose fruit are harvested when their immature seeds and Fruit anatomy#Epicarp, epicarp (rind) are still soft a ...

with ridges. It is native to

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

and has been naturalised in other regions. It is also grown as a

houseplant A houseplant, also known as a pot plant, potted plant, or indoor plant, is an ornamental plant cultivated indoors. for aesthetic or practical purposes. These plants are commonly found in House, homes, Office, offices, and various indoor spaces, w ...

in places with colder climates. English

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...

s include angled luffa, Chinese okra, dish cloth gourd, ridged gourd, sponge gourd, vegetable gourd, strainer vine, ribbed loofah, silky gourd, and silk gourd.M.M.P.N.D. - Sorting Luffa names
Plantnames.unimelb.edu.au (2000-02-06). Retrieved on 2014-05-26.

Uses

The young fruits of some ''Luffa''

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

s are used as cooked vegetables or pickled or eaten raw, and the shoots and flowers are sometimes also used. Like ''

Luffa aegyptiaca ''Luffa aegyptiaca'', the sponge gourd, Egyptian cucumber or Vietnamese luffa, is an annual species of vine cultivated for its fruit, native to South and Southeast Asia. Description The three-lobed leaves are wide. The fruit, approximate ...

'', the mature fruits are harvested when dry and processed to remove all but the fruit fibre, which can then be used as a sponge or as fibre for making hats.

Gallery

File:Glands in probract that attract ants.jpg, Extrafloral nectar glands with ''

Oecophylla smaragdina ''Oecophylla smaragdina'' (common names include Asian weaver ant, weaver ant, green ant, green tree ant, and orange gaster) is a species of tree, arboreal ant found in tropical Asia and Australia. These ants form colonies with multiple nests in ...

'' ants File:Luffa acutangula Chinese okra female flower 2.jpg, Female flower File:Luffa acutangula Chinese okra male flower.jpg, Male flower

References

Cucurbitoideae Fruit vegetables Asian vegetables Flora of the Indian subcontinent {{Cucurbitales-stub

Uses

Gallery

See also

References