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 (more…)