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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Luffa''
| image = W hetima2082.jpg
| image_width = 300px
| image_caption = Egyptian luffa with nearly mature fruit
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Cucurbitales]]
| familia = [[Cucurbitaceae]]
| genus = '''''Luffa'''''
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
* ''L. acutangula'' (Angled luffa, Ridged Luffa)
* ''L. aegyptiaca'' (Smooth luffa, Egyptian luffa)
* ''L. operculata'' (Sponge cucumber)
and others
}}
[[Image:Luffa_sponge.png|thumb|left|200px|A luffa sponge whose coarse texture helps with [[skin]] polishing.]]
[[Image:Luffa_acutangula_seeds.jpg|thumb|Luffa acutangula seeds. Each division of the ruler is 1 mm. Seeds of Luffa aegyptica look very similar.]]
The '''Luffa''' or '''Loofah'''/'''Lufah''' (from [[Arabic language|Arabic]] لوف) are tropical and subtropical annual [[vine]]s comprising the genus '''''Luffa'''''. The fruit of at least two species, ''L. acutangula'' and ''L. aegyptiaca'', is grown to be harvested before maturity and eaten as a [[vegetable]], popular in [[Asia]] and [[Africa]]. It is also known as ''Ridged Gourd'' and is called <span style='font-size:14.0pt'>জিকা </span> ''zika'' in [[Assamese language|Assamese]], 丝瓜 ''si<sup>1</sup>gua<sup>1</sup>'' in [[Mandarin Chinese]], ''Turai'' in [[Hindi]], ''Gisoda'' in [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]], ''heeray kAyi'' in [[Kannada language|Kannada]], ''wetakolu'' in [[Sinhalese language|Sinhala]], ''mướp khía'' in [[Vietnamese language]], ''patola'' in [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]], ''kabatiti'' in [[Ilocano language|Ilocano]], and ''gambas'' or ''oyong'' in [[Indonesia]]. The fruit of ''L. aegyptiaca'' may also be allowed to mature and used as a bath or kitchen [[sponge (tool)|sponge]] after being processed to remove everything but the network of [[xylem]]. This version is called ''Lifah'' in [[Arabic]], <span style='font-size:14.0pt'>ভোল </span> ''bhol'' in [[Assamese language|Assamese]], ''dhundul'' in [[Bengali language|Bengali]], ''ghiya tori'' or ''nerua'' in [[Hindi]] or "peerkankai" in [[Tamil language|Tamil]] or "beera kaya" in [[Telugu language|Telugu]]
''Luffa'' species are used as food plants by the [[larva]]e of some [[Lepidoptera]] species including ''[[Hypercompe|Hypercompe albicornis]]''.
[[Image:Luffa acutangula1.jpg|200px|thumb|left|''Luffa acutangula'']]
A Luffa or Loofah sponge is used like a body scrub. Both the coarse textured sponge and the soft textured sponge are called Luffas or Loofahs.
==See also==
* [[Gourd]]
* [[Okra]]
* Lee Wickert
* Lufa (american tradition)
==External links==
*[http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Luffa.html Multilingual taxonomic information at the University of Melbourne]
*[http://www.floridata.com/ref/l/luff_aeg.cfm Luffa aegyptiaca at Floridata]
[[Category:Cucurbitaceae]]
[[Category:Vegetable-like fruits]]
{{vegetable-stub}}
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Luffa''
| image = W hetima2082.jpg
| image_width = 300px
| image_caption = Egyptian luffa with nearly mature fruit
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Cucurbitales]]
| familia = [[Cucurbitaceae]]
| genus = '''''Luffa'''''
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
* ''L. acutangula'' (Angled luffa, Ridged Luffa)
* ''L. aegyptiaca'' (Smooth luffa, Egyptian luffa)
* ''L. operculata'' (Sponge cucumber)
and others
}}
[[Image:Luffa_sponge.png|thumb|left|200px|A luffa sponge whose coarse texture helps with [[skin]] polishing.]]
[[Image:Luffa_acutangula_seeds.jpg|thumb|Luffa acutangula seeds. Each division of the ruler is 1 mm. Seeds of Luffa aegyptica look very similar.]]
The '''Luffa''' or '''Loofah'''/'''Lufah''' (from [[Arabic language|Arabic]] لوف) are tropical and subtropical annual [[vine]]s comprising the genus '''''Luffa'''''. The fruit of at least two species, ''L. acutangula'' and ''L. aegyptiaca'', is grown to be harvested before maturity and eaten as a [[vegetable]], popular in [[Asia]] and [[Africa]]. It is also known as ''Ridged Gourd'' and is called <span style='font-size:14.0pt'>জিকা </span> ''zika'' in [[Assamese language|Assamese]], 丝瓜 ''si<sup>1</sup>gua<sup>1</sup>'' in [[Mandarin Chinese]], ''Turai'' in [[Hindi]], ''Gisoda'' in [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]], ''heeray kAyi'' in [[Kannada language|Kannada]], ''wetakolu'' in [[Sinhalese language|Sinhala]], ''mướp khía'' in [[Vietnamese language]], ''patola'' in [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]], ''kabatiti'' in [[Ilocano language|Ilocano]], and ''gambas'' or ''oyong'' in [[Indonesia]]. The fruit of ''L. aegyptiaca'' may also be allowed to mature and used as a bath or kitchen [[sponge (tool)|sponge]] after being processed to remove everything but the network of [[xylem]]. This version is called ''Lifah'' in [[Arabic]], <span style='font-size:14.0pt'>ভোল </span> ''bhol'' in [[Assamese language|Assamese]], ''dhundul'' in [[Bengali language|Bengali]], ''ghiya tori'' or ''nerua'' in [[Hindi]] or "peerkankai" in [[Tamil language|Tamil]] or "beera kaya" in [[Telugu language|Telugu]]
''Luffa'' species are used as food plants by the [[larva]]e of some [[Lepidoptera]] species including ''[[Hypercompe|Hypercompe albicornis]]''.
[[Image:Luffa acutangula1.jpg|200px|thumb|left|''Luffa acutangula'']]
A Luffa or Loofah sponge is used like a body scrub. Both the coarse textured sponge and the soft textured sponge are called Luffas or Loofahs.
==See also==
* [[Gourd]]
* [[Okra]]
* Lee Wickert
* Lufa (american tradition)
==External links==
*[http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Luffa.html Multilingual taxonomic information at the University of Melbourne]
*[http://www.floridata.com/ref/l/luff_aeg.cfm Luffa aegyptiaca at Floridata]
[[Category:Cucurbitaceae]]
[[Category:Vegetable-like fruits]]
{{vegetable-stub}}
