luffa acutangula
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Luffa acutangula Chinese okra.jpg
|genus = Luffa
|species = acutangula
|authority = (L.) Roxb.{{cite POWO | title = Luffa acutangula | id = 105280-3 | access-date = 2024-02-27}}
|synonyms =
{{Species list | hidden = yes
| Cucumis acutangulus | L.
| Cucurbita acutangula | (L.) Blume
| Cucumis lineatus | Bosc
| Cucumis megacarpus | G.Don
| Cucumis operculatus | Roxb.
| Cucurbita campanulata | D.Dietr.
| Cucurbita umbellata | J.G.Klein ex Willd.
| Luffa amara | Roxb.
| Luffa cattu-picinna | Ser.
| Luffa drastica | Mart.
| Luffa fluminensis | M.Roem.
| Luffa foetida | Cav.
| Luffa forskalii | Beck & F.Abel
| Luffa forskalii | Schweinf. ex Harms
| Luffa gosa | Buch.-Ham.
| Luffa hermaphrodita | N.B.Singh & U.C.Bhattach.
| Luffa kleinii | Wight & Arn.
| Luffa plukenetiana | Ser.
| Luffa tenera | Royle
| Luffa umbellata | (J.G.Klein ex Willd.) M.Roem.
}}
}}
Luffa acutangula is a cucurbitaceous vine that is commercially grown for its unripe fruits as a vegetable. Mature fruits are used as natural cleaning sponges. Its fruit slightly resembles a cucumber or zucchini with ridges. It is native to South Asia and has been naturalised in other regions. It is also grown as a houseplant in places with colder climates. English common names include angled luffa, Chinese okra, dish cloth gourd, ridged gourd, sponge gourd, vegetable gourd, strainer vine, ribbed loofah, silky gourd, and silk gourd.[http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Luffa.html M.M.P.N.D. - Sorting Luffa names]. Plantnames.unimelb.edu.au (2000-02-06). Retrieved on 2014-05-26.
Uses
The young fruits of some Luffa cultivars are used as cooked vegetables or pickled or eaten raw, and the shoots and flowers are sometimes also used.{{cite book |author1=Soladoye, M.O. |author2=Adebisi, A.A. |year=2004 |title=Luffa acutangula (L.) Roxb. In: Grubben, G.J.H. & Denton, O.A. (Editors). PROTA 2: Vegetables. |publisher=PROTA, Wageningen, Netherlands}} Like Luffa aegyptiaca, the mature fruits are harvested when dry and processed to remove all but the fruit fibre, which can then be used as a sponge or as fibre for making hats.
Gallery
File:Glands in probract that attract ants.jpg|Extrafloral nectar glands{{cite journal |last1=Chakravarty |first1=H. L. |title=Extrafloral Glands of Cucurbitaceæ |journal=Nature |date=October 1948 |volume=162 |issue=4119 |pages=576–577 |doi=10.1038/162576b0 |bibcode=1948Natur.162..576C |s2cid=4128826 }} with Oecophylla smaragdina ants
File:Luffa acutangula Chinese okra female flower 2.jpg|Female flower
File:Luffa acutangula Chinese okra male flower.jpg|Male flower
See also
References
{{Commons category}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1948703}}
Category:Flora of the Indian subcontinent
{{Cucurbitales-stub}}