Cucurbitaceae FAMILY
Luffa aegyptiaca
Luffa aegyptiaca
Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
2/5
Safety & Hazards
None known
Botanical Description
Loofah is a vigorous annual climbing plant producing stems that scramble over the ground or climb into other plants for support, attaching themselves by means of tendrils. This plant is the major source of the loofah sponge or skin brush, widely used for cleaning the body. The plant is also sometimes used for food and has a range of traditional medicinal uses. It is often cultivated in tropical regions of the world.
Habitat & Origin
Origintropical
Native RangePantropical, it probably originated in Asia, or perhaps Africa.
HabitatNot known in a truly wild situation, the plant was probably originally native to India but has been cultivated for so long that its origins are uncertain[ 521 Title Useful Plants of the Siona and Secoya Indians of Eastern Ecuador. Publication Fieldiana Botany New Series No. 15 Author Vickers W.T.; Plowman T. Website http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org Publisher Field Museum of Natural History; USA. Year 1984 ISBN 0015 - 0746 Description Very terse, but it gives the uses of a large number of species. It can be downloaded from the Internet. ].