Luffa Cyndrilica (vegetable sponge gourd)

             Houston Texas
This vine and its fruit are often called Vegetable Sponge, Dishcloth Gourd, Dishrag Gourd, Rag Gourd, Sponge Gourd and a host of other names. It's LUFFA CYLINDRICA.

Vegetable Sponge has served humanity for so long, and has been spread across the warmer parts of the entire world so effectively, that it's hard to say where the wild ancestor lived, though it's assumed to have been in Africa or Asia. A similar species of the same genus and with many of the same features sometimes is encountered, Luffa acutangula, but its long fruits are more distinctly ribbed and angled than our Río Lagartos one.

Not only can you make a good washrag from the mature fruit's fibrous interior -- its "endocarp," in botanical terms -- but also the young fruit can be eaten fresh or cooked as a vegetable, especially in countries where cultivars have been developed with eating in mind. The roasted seeds are edible and contain an oil that is both edible and serviceable in the manufacture of soap. Goats crave the fruits and leaves, and bees feed on the flowers.

To top it off, it's medicinal. Root preparations are taken for the treatment of constipation and as a diuretic, and in Gabon it's used for nose cancer. In Tanzania a root decoction and the leaf sap are drunk to reduce the danger of abortion. Well, such uses just go on and on.

Some rights reserved

Taken in: United States / Texas / Rose Hill (show map)

Taken on: June 10, 2022

Tags:

Vegetable

Sponge

Vine

Flower

Bud

Luffa

Cylindrica

Loofa

Nikon

D500

Yellow

Plant

Dishcloth

Dishrag

Rag

Texas

Houston

Petals

Flickr

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Groups appears in: • Secret Life of Plants • The Plant more » • Flickr Nature • Flower Photography • Flowers Group • NIKON PROFESSIONAL • In A Country"FLOWER" Garden (NO BORDERS) • Flowers all kinds • Official National Geographic Group • Flickr's Biggest Group • All Plants • Flower Flower Flower • Flickr center • Maximal minimalism • Nikkor AF-S 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR • Nikon D500 User's Group • D500 Club • INVITATION - POOL « less

Camera: Nikon D500, f/5.6, 1/500 sec, 240mm (=360mm), ISO 180 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D500
Lens:	200.0-500.0 mm f/5.6
Aperture:	f/5.6
Exposure Time:	0.002 sec (1/500)
Focal Length:	240mm (35mm equivalent: 360mm)
ISO:	180
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Ver.1.20
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