Common name: Sponge Gourd, Loofah, Smooth luffa • Hindi: घिया तोरई Ghia torai • Marathi: पालो Palo • Telugu: Neyangnattakolu • Assamese: Bhatkakrel, Aibhi
Botanical name: Luffa aegyptiaca Family: Cucurbitaceae (Pumpkin family)
Synonyms: Cucurbita luffa, Luffa cylindrica, Luffa pentandra, Momordica cylindrica
Sponge Gourd is a rampant, fast growing annual vine that produces pretty
yellow flowers and a popular vegetable as fruit that are edible when
immature and used as back scrubbers or sponges when fully mature. The vine
can get more than 30 ft long and scrambles over anything in its path. The
large leaves are lobed and have silvery patches on the topsides. The
flowers are showy and conspicuous, about 2-3 in across with five petals.
The fruits are green, up to 24 in long and 3 in in diameter; they are
cylindrical and smooth, and shaped like a club, slighter wider on one end.
Small fruits look like okra or little cucumbers. On older fruits, the outer
skin eventually dries and turns brown and papery
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