Cucurbitaceae

Luffa Mill.

First published in Gard. Dict. Abr., ed. 4.: [s.p.] (1754)
This genus is accepted
The native range of this genus is Mexico to Tropical America, W. Tropical Africa to Somalia, Indian Subcontinent, Australia.

Distribution

Native to:

Assam, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil Southeast, Cameroon, Chad, Colombia, Costa Rica, East Himalaya, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, French Guiana, Galápagos, Guatemala, Guyana, India, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Nepal, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Territory, Pakistan, Panamá, Peru, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan-South Sudan, Suriname, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuela, West Himalaya, Western Australia

Introduced into:

Albania, Andaman Is., Angola, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Benin, Bismarck Archipelago, Brazil South, Burkina, Burundi, Cambodia, Caroline Is., Central African Republic, Chagos Archipelago, China South-Central, China Southeast, Comoros, Congo, Cook Is., Cuba, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, DR Congo, Eritrea, Fiji, Florida, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf of Guinea Is., Gulf States, Hainan, Haiti, Illinois, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Jawa, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Korea, Laccadive Is., Laos, Leeward Is., Lesser Sunda Is., Liberia, Louisiana, Malawi, Maldives, Maluku, Marianas, Marquesas, Mauritius, Mexico Central, Mozambique, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Guinea, Nicobar Is., North Carolina, Oman, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Réunion, Samoa, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Society Is., Solomon Is., South Carolina, Southwest Caribbean, Tadzhikistan, Tanzania, Texas, Thailand, Tonga, Transcaucasus, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuelan Antilles, Vietnam, Virginia, Wallis-Futuna Is., Windward Is., Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Synonyms

Heterotypic Synonyms

Accepted Species

Classification

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Publications

POWO follows these authorities in accepting this name:

  • Govaerts, R., Nic Lughadha, E., Black, N., Turner, R. & Paton, A. (2021). The World Checklist of Vascular Plants, a continuously updated resource for exploring global plant diversity. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-021-00997-6. Scientific Data 8: 215.

Flora of West Tropical Africa

  • —F.T.A. 2: 530.

Flora Zambesiaca

  • Gard. Diet, abridg. ed. 4 (1754).

Flora of Somalia

  • Flora Somalia, Vol 1, (1993) Author: by C. Jeffrey & M. Thulin [updated by M. Thulin 2008]

Flora of Tropical East Africa

  • Gard. Dict., Abridg. ed. 4 [without pagination] (1754)

Other Data

Other Kew resources that provide information on this taxon:

Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status Has image?
Sinclair [s.n.] Mexico K000424021 Unknown Type Material Yes
Waterhouse, J.H.L. [981] Papua New Guinea K003451387 Yes
Jarrett, T. Uganda K003451595 Yes
Beechey [s.n.] Mexico K000424020 Unknown Type Material Yes
Brass, L.J. [26039] Papua New Guinea K003451383 Yes
Myers, J.G. Sudan K003451593 Yes
s.coll. [Cat. no. s.n.] K001132351 Unknown Type Material Yes
Harmand (Dr) [s.n.] Vietnam K003451333 Yes
van Royen, P. [4561] Indonesia K003451384 Yes
Verheijen, J.A.J. [3555] Indonesia K003451357 Yes
Casas, F. [11994] Equatorial Guinea K003451516 Yes
s.coll. Uganda K003451594 Yes
Casas, F. [11994] Equatorial Guinea K003451517 Yes
Palmer, E. [1018] Mexico K000424022 Unknown Type Material Yes
s.coll. [Cat. no. 6754] K001124735 Unknown Type Material Yes
Ridley, H.N. [s.n.] Malaysia K003451317 Yes
Palmer, E. [770] Mexico K000424023 Type Yes
Spruce, R. [s.n.] Ecuador K000006228 No
Liebenberg, L.C.C. Uganda K003451596 Yes
s.coll. [Cat. no. 6754] K001124734 Unknown Type Material Yes
Waterhouse, J.H.L. [853] Papua New Guinea K003451386 Yes
Brass, L.J. [24463] Papua New Guinea K003451385 Yes
s.coll. [Cat. no. 6754] K001124736 Unknown Type Material Yes

Sources

  • Flora Zambesiaca

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

  • Flora of Somalia

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

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

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

  • 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.

  • 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 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