Annuals Dictionary: Luffa
Cucumber family
Cucurbitaceae
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.