Autonyms (not in current use) and synonyms:

• (=) Cucurbita luffa hort.
• (=) Luffa cylindrica M. Roem.
• (=) Luffa pentandra Roxb.
• (=) Momordica cylindrica L.
• (=) Momordica luffa L.

Common names:

• dishrag gourd  (Source: Biol Cucurb) - English
• loofah  (Source: Biol Cucurb) - English
• rag gourd  (Source: Biol Cucurb) - English
• smooth loofah  (Source: World Econ Pl) - English
• sponge gourd  (Source: Biol Cucurb) - English
• vegetable-sponge  (Source: Dict Gard) - English
• courge torchon  (Source: Dict Rehm) - French
• pétole  (Source: Dict Rehm) - French
• Schwammgurke  (Source: Dict Rehm) - German
• hechima  (Source: F Japan) - Japanese Rōmaji
• esponja-vegetal  (Source: Dict Rehm) - Portuguese
• estropajo  (Source: Spanish Dict) - Spanish
• paste  (Source: Dict Rehm) - Spanish
• si gua  (Source: F ChinaEng) - Transcribed Chinese
• susemioi  (Source: Kulturpflanze) - Transcribed Korean
• ghia tori  (Source: Hamdard) - Urdu (Pakistan)

Economic Importance:

• Human food: potential as oil/fat (fide Hamdard 38:99. 1995) vegetable (from seeds fide Pl Res SEAs 8:194-195. 1993)
• Materials:
• Medicines: folklore (fide CRC MedHerbs ed2; Herbs Commerce ed2; Hamdard 38:99. 1995)

Distributional Range:

Cultivated (cult. throughout tropics)

Other (origin Asia or possibly Africa)

References:

1. Bibliograf, S. A., eds. 1964. Vox modern college Spanish & English dictionary.
2. Burkill, H. M. 1985-2004. The useful plants of west tropical Africa. Note: = Luffa cylindrica M. Roem.
3. Committee on Stabilization. 1975. Report of the standing committee on stabilization of specific names. Taxon 24:174.
4. Correa, J. E. & H. Y. Bernal. 1991. Especies vegetales promisorias de los paises del Convenio Andres Bello. 6:271-290.
5. Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
6. Erhardt, W. et al. 2008. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen
7. Exell, A. W. 1933. Correct botanical name of the Luffa sponge. J. Bot. 71:352.
8. Filipowicz, N. et al. 2014. Revisiting Luffa (Cucurbitaceae) 25 years after C. Heiser: Species boundaries and application of names tested with plastid and nuclear DNA sequences. Syst. Bot. 39:205-215. URL: www.aspt.net/systematic-botany
9. Hamid, S. et al. 1995. Medicinal plants of family Cucurbitaceae of Pakistan (part II). Hamdard 38:99.
10. Hammel, B. E. et al., eds. 2003-. Manual de plantas de Costa Rica
11. Heiser, C. B. & E. L. Schilling. 1990. The genus Luffa: a problem in phytogeography. Biology and utilization of the Cucurbitaceae 123.
12. Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening Note: = Luffa cylindrica M. Roem.
13. Kartesz, J. T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland.
14. Leung, A. Y. & S. Foster. 1996. Encyclopedia of common natural ingredients used in food, drugs, and cosmetics, ed. 2 Note: = Luffa cylindrica M. Roem.
15. Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third.
16. Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
17. McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
18. Nicolson, D. H. et al. 1988. An interpretation of Van Rheede's Hortus Malabaricus. Regnum Veg. 119:97.
19. Personal Care Products Council. INCI
20. Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
21. Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
22. Siemonsma, J. S. & Kasem Piluek, eds. 1993. Vegetables. Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 8:194-196.
23. Suresh, C. R. A commentary on Rheede's Hortus Malabaricus.
24. Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).

Images:

• Disseminule drawings\; A: Seed; B: embryo in situ; C: transection of seed: U.S. National Seed Herbarium drawing
• Embryo drawing: U.S. National Seed Herbarium drawing