Cucurbitaceae
Luffa

Luffa aegyptiaca Mill.

First published in Gard. Dict., ed. 8.: [s.p.] (1768)
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 medicine and for food.

Descriptions

Cucurbitaceae, Hutchinson and Dalziel. Flora of West Tropical Africa 1:1. 1954

Vernacular
The Loofah Gourd
Morphology General Habit
An annual climber with yellow flowers.
Ecology
Cultivated, and commonly naturalized.
[FWTA]

Distribution
Naturalised in Colombia.
Ecology
Habitat according IUCN Habitats Classification: forest and woodland, savanna, shrubland, native grassland, wetlands (inland), artificial - terrestrial.
[UPFC]

Bernal, R., Gradstein, S.R. & Celis, M. (eds.). 2015. Catálogo de plantas y líquenes de Colombia. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. http://catalogoplantasdecolombia.unal.edu.co

Distribution
Colombia
[CPLC]

Uses

Use Food
Used for food.
Use Medicines
Medical uses.
[UPFC]

Sources

  • Catálogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia

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

  • Flora of West Tropical Africa

    • Flora of West Tropical Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 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 2023. 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 Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2023. 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