Luffa aegyptica seed
LATIN NAME: Luffa aegyptiaca
COMMON NAME: Luffa
The luffa climbs the trellis with the long, ridged, golden-green fruits, and the large, lobed leaves and the yellow flowers cover the vine. The vigorous, climbing, annual vine carries the large, lobed, rough, bright-green leaves and the large, open, yellow flowers through the summer, one of the fine, generous sights of the warm garden, drawing the bees, to be followed by the long, cylindrical, ridged, golden-green fruits. The dried inner fibres of the ripe fruits have a long record as the fine, natural sponges of the old kitchens and baths, and the vine is a fine, historic presence of the warm garden. It is a vine of the open, sunny, deep, rich, moist ground.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The luffa is a historic subject of the plant science, and the ridged fruits keep showing up in the work on the climbing vines. The way the long, cylindrical, ridged, golden-green fruits form the fibrous inner core has been studied closely, and it keeps appearing in the studies of the climbing vines, the sponge-producing plants and the members of the gourd family. The large, lobed leaves and the vigorous habit have also made it a fine study vine, and the luffa is a regular subject of the work on the ridged fruits of the warm world.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
The luffa is a fine, generous vine of the warm garden and the trellis. The long, cylindrical, ridged, golden-green fruits come to the warm tables as the tender, fine-flavoured gourds while the fruits are young, and the dried inner fibres of the ripe fruits have a long record as the fine, natural sponges of the old kitchens and baths, while the large, open, yellow flowers open through the summer, one of the fine, generous sights of the garden, drawing the bees. It is one of the fine choices for the warm garden, the trellis and the study collection, and it has been written about in the culinary and the botanical papers for the ridged fruits and the very long history. It is a fine, generous vine of the open, sunny, deep, rich, moist garden.
Give the young vines the trellis and the warm, sunny spot, and the ridged fruits will come in the first warm season.
To grow the luffa from seed, sow the flat, black seeds a centimetre and a half down in the pot of rich, gritty soil, keep the pot in a warm, bright spot and water gently, then set the young vines out after the last frosts. The seedlings come through within a couple of weeks and grow on fast. With the sun, the trellis and the deep, rich, moist ground, the ridged fruits will come in the first warm season.
Uses: Culinary/Medicinal
(Loofah) Known as the gourd because the dried over-ripe fruits can be used to scrub dishes. Wonderful for bath and shower as it invigorates the skin without harsh abrasion. Used in Chinese cuisine as a vegetable and in medicine for rheumatic pains.