also spelled loofah, also called dishcloth gourd, vegetable sponge, sponge gourd, or rag gourd any of six species of annual climbing vines constituting the genus Luffa, of the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae). Luffas are native to the Old World tropics. Two species cultivated in temperate areas are L. acutangula and L. aegyptiaca. The cucumber-shaped fruits, edible and greenish when young, become straw-coloured with age. They are about 30 cm (1 foot) long and have closely netted vascular bundles (food- and water-carrying tubes), the complex of which resembles a sponge in texture when the skin, pulp, and seeds are removed. The resulting spongelike product is used domestically for bathing and for washing dishes and is used also as an industrial filter. |