Luffa aegyptiaca

Read about Luffa aegyptiaca in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Luffa cylindrica, Roem. (Momordica cylindrica, Linn. L. aegyptiaca, Mill. L. Petola, Ser. L. Veitchii, Naudin. L. faetida, Hort. [at least in part], not Cav. L. Fabiana, L. japonica, L. mexicana [?] and L. noctiflora alba, Hort.). Naga Itouri of Japanese. Sua-Kwa of Chinese. The commonest dishcloth gourd: sts. slender running, furrowed, roughened: lvs. roundish in outline, mostly 15-lobed, coarsely toothed, very scabrous above and beneath: staminate fls. 2-3 in. across, wilting in the sun; ovary cylindrical or clavate, pubescent, destitute of distinct ridges, ripening into a slender cylindrical curved fr. 1-2 ft. long; seeds black or rarely whitish, narrow- winged. A var. macrocarpa is listed. Probably native to the Old World, but widely distributed in the tropics. A.G. 13:526. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.