Cucurbitaceae
Luffa

Luffa acutangula (L.) Roxb.

First published in Fl. Ind., ed. 1832. 3: 713 (1832)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Indian Subcontinent. It is a climbing annual and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome. It is used as a poison and a medicine, has environmental uses and for food.

Distribution

Native to:

Assam, Bangladesh, East Himalaya, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Himalaya

Introduced into:

Benin, Burkina, Caroline Is., Chad, Chagos Archipelago, China South-Central, China Southeast, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Gulf of Guinea Is., Gulf States, Haiti, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Laos, Leeward Is., Louisiana, Maldives, Marianas, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico Southwest, Mozambique, Oman, Puerto Rico, Réunion, Senegal, Tadzhikistan, Thailand, Transcaucasus, Trinidad-Tobago, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Virginia, Windward Is., Yemen, Zaïre

Synonyms

Homotypic Synonyms

Heterotypic Synonyms

Classification

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Publications

POWO follows these authorities in accepting this name:

  • Abdulina, S.A. (1999). Spisok Sosudistykn Rastenii Kazakhstana: 1-187. Academy of Sciences, Almaty, Kazakhstan.
  • Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & Strong, M.T. (2012). Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98: 1-1192.
  • Akoègninou, A., van der Burg, W.J. & van der Maesen, L.J.G. (eds.) (2006). Flore Analytique du Bénin: 1-1034. Backhuys Publishers.
  • Baksh-Comeau, Y., Maharaj, S.S., Adams, C.D., Harris, S.A., Filer, D.L. & Hawthorne, W.D. (2016). An annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Trinidad and Tobago with analysis of vegetation types and botanical 'hotspots'. Phytotaxa 250: 1-431.
  • Balkrishna, A. (2018). Flora of Morni Hills (Research & Possibilities): 1-581. Divya Yoga Mandir Trust.
  • Barry, J. P. & Celles, J.S. (1991). Flore de Mauritanie 1: 1-359. Centre Regional de Documentation Pedagogique, Nice.
  • Berhaut, J. (1975). Flore illustrée du Sénégal 3: 1-634. Gouvernement du Sénégal, Ministère du développement rural direction des eaux et forêta, Dakar.
  • Dassanayake (ed.) (1997). A Revised Handbook to the Flora of Ceylon 11: 1-420. Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. PVT. LTD., New Delhi, Calcutta.
  • Exell, A.W. (1973). Angiosperms of the islands of the gulf of Guinea (Fernando Po, Príncipe, S.Tomé, and Annobon). Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). Botany 4: 325-411.
  • Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2015). Flora of North America North of Mexico 6: 1-468. Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford.
  • Fosberg, F.R., Sachet, M.-H., Oliver, R. (1979). A geographical checklist of the Micronesian Dicotyledonae. Micronesica; Journal of the College of Guam 15: 41-295.
  • Ghazanfar, S.A. (1992). An Annotated Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Oman and their Vernacular names. Scripta Botanica Belgica 2: 1-153.
  • Grierson, A.J.C. & Long, D.G. (2001). Flora of Bhutan 2: 1-1675. Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh.
  • Jongbloed, M., Western, R.A. & Boer, B. (2000). Annotated Check-list for plants in the U.A.E.: 1-90. Zodiac Publishing, Dubai.
  • Kotiya, A., Solanki, Y. & Reddy, G.V. (2020). Flora of Rajasthan: 1-769. Rajasthan state biodiversity board.
  • Launert, E. (ed.) (1978). Flora Zambesiaca 4: 1-658. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Lebrun, J.-P., Audru, J., Gaston, A. & Mosnier, M. (1972). Catalogue des Plantes Vasculaires du Tchad Méridional: 1-289. Institut d' Elevage et de Médecine Vétérinaire des Pays Tropicaux, Maisons Alfort.
  • Lejoy, J., Ndjele, M.-B. & Geerinck, D. (2010). Catalogue-flore des plantes vasculaires des districts de Kisangani et de la Tshopo (RD Congo). Taxonomania 30: 1-307.
  • Lê, T.C. (2003). Danh lục các loài thực vật Việt Nam 2: 1-1203. Hà Nội : Nhà xuất bản Nông nghiệp.
  • Mao, A.A. & Dash, S.S. (2020). Flowering Plants of India an Annotated Checklist (Dicotyledons) 1: 1-970. Botanical Survey of India.
  • Meena, S.L. (2012). A checklist of the vascular plants of Banaskantha district, Gujarat, India. Nelumbo 54: 39-91.
  • Mosti, S., Raffaelli, M. & Tardelli, M. (2012). Contributions to the flora of central-southern Dhofar (Sultanate of Oman). Webbia; Raccolta de Scritti Botanici 67: 65-91.
  • Nazimuddin, S. & Naqvi, S.S.H. (1984). Flora of Pakistan 154: 1-56. Department of Botany, University of Karachi, Karachi.
  • Newman, M., Ketphanh, S., Svengsuksa, B., Thomas, P., Sengdala, K., Lamxay, V. & Armstrong, K. (2007). A checklist of the vascular plants of Lao PDR: 1-394. Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh.
  • Ovchinnikov, P.N. (ed.) (1988). Flora Tadzhikskoi SSR 9: 1-568. Izd-vo Akademii nauk SSSR, Moskva.
  • Pasha, M.K. & Uddin, S.B. (2013). Dictionary of plant names of Bangladesh, Vasc. Pl.: 1-434. Janokalyan Prokashani, Chittagong, Bangladesh.
  • Renner, S.S. & Pandey, A.K. (2013). The Cucurbitaceae of India: Accepted names, synonyms, geographic distribution, and information on images and DNA sequences. PhytoKeys 20: 53-118.
  • Schischkin, B.K. & al. (eds.) (1954). Flora Turkmenii 6: 1-402. Turkmenskoe gosudarstvennoe izd., Ashkhabad.
  • Sheppard, C.R.C. & Seaward, M.R.D. (eds.) (1999). Ecology of the Chagos archipelago: 1-350. Westbury Academic & Scientific Publishing, Otley.
  • Sikarwar, R.L.S. (2014). Angiosperm diversity assessment of Chitrakootthe legendary place of Vindhyan range, India. Journal of Economic and Taxonomic Botany 38: 563-619.
  • Takhtajan, A.L. (ed.) in Takhtajan, A.L. (ed.) (2012). Konspekt Flora Kavkaza 3(2): 1-623. Editio Universitatis Petropolitanae.
  • Thiombiano, A., Schmidt, M., Dressler, S., Ouédraogo, A., Hahn, K. & Zizka, G. (2012). Catalogue des plantes vasculaires du Burkina Faso. Boissiera 65: 1-391.
  • Vvedensky, A.I. (ed.) (1961). Flora Uzbekistana 5: 1-667. Izd-va Akademii nauk Uzbekskoi SSR, Tashkent.
  • Wood, J.R.I. (1997). A handbook of the Yemen Flora: 1-434. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Wu, Z. & Raven, P.H. (eds.) (2011). Flora of China 19: 1-884. Science Press (Beijing) & Missouri Botanical Garden Press (St. Louis).
  • de Wilde, W.J.J.O. & Duyfjes, B.B.E. (2010). Flora Malesiana 19: 1-342. Noordhoff-Kolff N.V., Djakarta.
  • de Wilde, W.J.J.O. & Duyfjes, B.E.E. (2008). Flora of Thailand 9(4): 411-546. The Forest Herbarium, Royal Forest Department.

Kew Backbone Distributions

  • Abdulina, S.A. (1999). Spisok Sosudistykn Rastenii Kazakhstana: 1-187. Academy of Sciences, Almaty, Kazakhstan.
  • Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & Strong, M.T. (2012). Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98: 1-1192.
  • Akoègninou, A., van der Burg, W.J. & van der Maesen, L.J.G. (eds.) (2006). Flore Analytique du Bénin: 1-1034. Backhuys Publishers.
  • Baksh-Comeau, Y., Maharaj, S.S., Adams, C.D., Harris, S.A., Filer, D.L. & Hawthorne, W.D. (2016). An annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Trinidad and Tobago with analysis of vegetation types and botanical 'hotspots'. Phytotaxa 250: 1-431.
  • Barry, J. P. & Celles, J.S. (1991). Flore de Mauritanie 1: 1-359. Centre Regional de Documentation Pedagogique, Nice.
  • Berhaut, J. (1975). Flore illustrée du Sénégal 3: 1-634. Gouvernement du Sénégal, Ministère du développement rural direction des eaux et forêta, Dakar.
  • Bosser, J. & al. (eds.) (1990). Flore des Mascareignes 90-106: 1. IRD Éditions, MSIRI, RBG-Kew, Paris.
  • Dassanayake (ed.) (1997). A Revised Handbook to the Flora of Ceylon 11: 1-420. Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. PVT. LTD., New Delhi, Calcutta.
  • Exell, A.W. (1973). Angiosperms of the islands of the gulf of Guinea (Fernando Po, Príncipe, S.Tomé, and Annobon). Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). Botany 4: 325-411.
  • Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2015). Flora of North America North of Mexico 6: 1-468. Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford.
  • Fosberg, F.R., Sachet, M.-H., Oliver, R. (1979). A geographical checklist of the Micronesian Dicotyledonae. Micronesica; Journal of the College of Guam 15: 41-295.
  • Jongbloed, M., Western, R.A. & Boer, B. (2000). Annotated Check-list for plants in the U.A.E.: 1-90. Zodiac Publishing, Dubai.
  • Launert, E. (ed.) (1978). Flora Zambesiaca 4: 1-658. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Lebrun, J.-P., Audru, J., Gaston, A. & Mosnier, M. (1972). Catalogue des Plantes Vasculaires du Tchad Méridional: 1-289. Institut d' Elevage et de Médecine Vétérinaire des Pays Tropicaux, Maisons Alfort.
  • Lejoy, J., Ndjele, M.-B. & Geerinck, D. (2010). Catalogue-flore des plantes vasculaires des districts de Kisangani et de la Tshopo (RD Congo). Taxonomania 30: 1-307.
  • Lê, T.C. (2003). Danh lục các loài thực vật Việt Nam 2: 1-1203. Hà Nội : Nhà xuất bản Nông nghiệp.
  • Mosti, S., Raffaelli, M. & Tardelli, M. (2012). Contributions to the flora of central-southern Dhofar (Sultanate of Oman). Webbia; Raccolta de Scritti Botanici 67: 65-91.
  • Newman, M., Ketphanh, S., Svengsuksa, B., Thomas, P., Sengdala, K., Lamxay, V. & Armstrong, K. (2007). A checklist of the vascular plants of Lao PDR: 1-394. Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh.
  • Ovchinnikov, P.N. (ed.) (1988). Flora Tadzhikskoi SSR 9: 1-568. Izd-vo Akademii nauk SSSR, Moskva.
  • Pasha, M.K. & Uddin, S.B. (2013). Dictionary of plant names of Bangladesh, Vasc. Pl.: 1-434. Janokalyan Prokashani, Chittagong, Bangladesh.
  • Renner, S.S. & Pandey, A.K. (2013). The Cucurbitaceae of India: Accepted names, synonyms, geographic distribution, and information on images and DNA sequences. PhytoKeys 20: 53-118.
  • Schischkin, B.K. & al. (eds.) (1954). Flora Turkmenii 6: 1-402. Turkmenskoe gosudarstvennoe izd., Ashkhabad.
  • Sheppard, C.R.C. & Seaward, M.R.D. (eds.) (1999). Ecology of the Chagos archipelago: 1-350. Westbury Academic & Scientific Publishing, Otley.
  • Stutz, L.-C. (1982). Herborisation 1981 aux îles Maldives. Candollea 37: 599-631.
  • Takhtajan, A.L. (ed.) in Takhtajan, A.L. (ed.) (2012). Konspekt Flora Kavkaza 3(2): 1-623. Editio Universitatis Petropolitanae.
  • Thiombiano, A., Schmidt, M., Dressler, S., Ouédraogo, A., Hahn, K. & Zizka, G. (2012). Catalogue des plantes vasculaires du Burkina Faso. Boissiera 65: 1-391.
  • Vvedensky, A.I. (ed.) (1961). Flora Uzbekistana 5: 1-667. Izd-va Akademii nauk Uzbekskoi SSR, Tashkent.
  • Wood, J.R.I. (1997). A handbook of the Yemen Flora: 1-434. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Wu, Z. & Raven, P.H. (eds.) (2011). Flora of China 19: 1-884. Science Press (Beijing) & Missouri Botanical Garden Press (St. Louis).
  • de Wilde, W.J.J.O. & Duyfjes, B.E.E. (2008). Flora of Thailand 9(4): 411-546. The Forest Herbarium, Royal Forest Department.

Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia

  • Burkill HM. (1995). The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vols. 1-3. The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vols 1-3.
  • Cámara-Leret, R., & Dennehy, Z. (2019). Information gaps in indigenous and local knowledge for science-policy assessments. Nature Sustainability 2:736-741.
  • Diazgranados et al. (2021). Catalogue of plants of Colombia. Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia project. In prep.
  • Diazgranados, M., Allkin, B., Black N., Cámara-Leret, R., Canteiro C., Carretero J., Eastwood R., Hargreaves S., Hudson A., Milliken W., Nesbitt, M., Ondo, I., Patmore, K., Pironon, S., Turner, R., Ulian, T. (2020). World Checklist of Useful Plant Species. Produced by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Knowledge Network for Biocomplexity.
  • FPI (2021). Food Plants International. https://fms.cmsvr.com/fmi/webd/Food_Plants_World?homeurl=https://foodplantsinternational.com/plants/
  • GBIF.org (2021). GBIF species matching tool. https://www.gbif.org/tools/species-lookup
  • GRIN (2021). Germplasm Resources Information Network from the United States Department of Agriculture. https://www.ars-grin.gov/
  • Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humbodlt (2014). Plantas alimenticias y medicinales nativas de Colombia. 2567 registros, aportados por: Castellanos, C. (Contacto del recurso), Valderrama, N. (Creador del recurso, Autor), Bernal, Y. (Autor), García, N. (Autor). http://i2d.humboldt.org.co/ceiba/resource.do?r=ls_colombia_magnoliophyta_2014
  • Medicinal Plant Names Services (MPNS) v.10 (2021); http://mpns.kew.org/
  • PROTA (2021). Plants Resources of Tropical Africa. https://prota4u.org/database/
  • RBG, Kew (2021). Kew Economic Botany Collection. https://ecbot.science.kew.org/
  • Willis, K.J. (ed.) (2017). State of the World’s Plants 2017. Report. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Other Data

Other Kew resources that provide information on this taxon:

Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status Has image?
s.coll. [s.n.] K000742647 Unknown Type Material Yes
s.coll. [Cat. no. 6759] K001124744 Unknown Type Material Yes
s.coll. [597] India K003451275 Yes
Wood, J.R.I. [2695] Yemen K003451163 Yes
Thomson, T. [s.n.] India K003451265 Yes
Stewart, R.R. [7504] Pakistan K003451286 Yes
s.coll. [s.n.] K003451827 Yes
Thomson, T. [s.n.] India K003451264 Yes
Gereau, R.E.; Kayombo, C.J. [3817] Tanzania K003451639 Yes
van der Maesen, L.J.G. [3970] India K003451270 Yes
Ritchie (Dr) [307/2] India K003451280 Yes
Keay, R.W.J. [FHI37068] Nigeria K003451513 Yes
s.coll. [s.n.] K003451183 Yes
[Naudin] [s.n.] India K003451266 Yes
s.coll. [Cat. no. 6759] Bangladesh K001124743 Unknown Type Material Yes
Horsfield, T. [s.n.] Indonesia K003451340 Yes
Squires, R.W. [801] Vietnam K003451332 Yes
Gamble, J.S. [1731B] India K003451279 Yes
s.coll. [s.n.] Gabon K003451546 Yes
Kerr, A.F.G. [3337] Thailand K003451330 Yes
s.coll. [s.n.] India K003451274 Yes
Bourne [s.n.] India K003451271 Yes
Chung, H.H. [3064] China K003451182 Yes
Radcliffe-Smith, A. [5111] Oman K003451171 Yes
Philcox, D.; Weerasooriya, A.; Abeysiri, B. [10455] Sri Lanka K003451289 Yes
s.coll. [s.n.] Zimbabwe K003451680 Yes
Kadir [A2581] K003451339 Yes
s.coll. [s.n.] India K003451272 Yes
Wood, J.R.I. [1381] Yemen K003451162 Yes
Thwaites [CP1624] Sri Lanka K003451292 Yes
Maidum Lais [284] Malaysia K003451334 Yes
Miller, A.G. [7519] Oman K003451167 Yes
Philcox, D.; Weerasooriya, A.; Abeysiri, B. [10515] Sri Lanka K003451291 Yes
Fay, J.M. [5232] Central African Republic K003451544 Yes
s.coll. [s.n.] Ghana K003451494 Yes
s.coll. [3] India K003451278 Yes
s.coll. [s.n.] K003451338 Yes
van der Maesen, L.J.G. [2923] India K003451269 Yes
s.coll. [s.n.] K003451358 Yes
Powell, T. [208] Samoa K003451412 Yes
Fay, J.M. [3109] Central African Republic K003451543 Yes
Telado [1913] K003451337 Yes
Waring, J. [124] Yemen K003451172 Yes
Thulin, M.; Beier, B.A.; Hussein, M. [9759] Yemen K003451164 Yes
Ritchie [307/4] India K003451283 Yes
Thulin, M.; Beier, B.A.; Hussein, M. [9759] Yemen K003451165 Yes
s.coll. [s.n.] Thailand K003451331 Yes
Bent, J.T. [s.n.] Saudi Arabia K003451173 Yes
s.coll. [s.n.] Singapore K003451316 Yes
Ritchie [307/3] India K003451282 Yes
Sedgwick, L.J. [6745] India K003451285 Yes
s.coll. [s.n.] Ghana K003451495 Yes
Roy, G.P. [2746] India K003451268 Yes
K:SPC-70000.590 No
[Mlester] [428] India K003451276 Yes
Schweinfurth, G. [545] Oman K003451168 Yes
Thomson, T. [s.n.] India K003451284 Yes
s.coll. [s.n.] Ghana K003451496 Yes
Philcox, D.; Weerasooriya, A.; Abeysiri, B. [10473] Sri Lanka K003451290 Yes
K:SPC-18770.000 No
Haines, H.H. [123(a)] India K003451277 Yes
s.coll. [s.n.] India K003451287 Yes
Fay, J.M. [5234] Central African Republic K003451545 Yes
Hepper, F.N.; Wood, J.R.I. [6028] Yemen K003451166 Yes
Gamble, J.S. [1731A] India K003451273 Yes
Kadir [A2581] Malaysia K003451336 Yes
Beccari, O. [1753] Malaysia K003451335 Yes
s.coll. [s.n.] K000742648 Unknown Type Material Yes
Shuter [s.n.] India K003451281 Yes
Singh, D. [s.n.] India K003451267 Yes
s.coll. [Cat. no. 6753] Bangladesh Luffa gosa K001124733 Unknown Type Material Yes
Wallich, N. [Cat. no. 6749] Momordica tubiflora K001124723 Unknown Type Material Yes
s.coll. [s.n.] Luffa umbellata K000742646 Unknown Type Material Yes
Thomson, T. [s.n.] Luffa acutangula var. amara K003451298 Yes
Naudin [s.n.] Luffa acutangula var. amara K003451300 Yes
s.coll. [237] Luffa acutangula var. amara K003451296 Yes
s.coll. [237] Luffa acutangula var. amara K003451299 Yes
s.coll. [s.n.] India Luffa acutangula var. amara K003451297 Yes
s.coll. [s.n.] India Luffa acutangula var. amara K003451295 Yes
s.coll. [s.n.] Luffa acutangula var. amara K003451294 Yes
Sedgwick, L.J. [6533] Luffa acutangula var. amara K003451293 Yes

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Living Collection Database

    • Common Names from Plants and People Africa http://www.plantsandpeopleafrica.com/

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images

  • Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0