Luffa

Luffa aegyptiaca

Luffa (right), illustration from the Japanese agricultural encyclopedia Seikei Zusetsu (1804)

Taxonavigation

Taxonavigation: Cucurbitales
Classification System: APG IV Superregnum: Eukaryota Regnum: Plantae Cladus: Angiosperms Cladus: Eudicots Cladus: Core eudicots Cladus: Rosids Cladus: Eurosids I Ordo: Cucurbitales

Familia: Cucurbitaceae
Tribus: Sicyoeae
Genus: Luffa
Species: L. acutangula – L. aegyptiaca – L. astorii – L. echinata – L. graveolens – L. operculata – L. sepium – L. quinquefida – L. saccata

Name

Luffa Mill., Gard. Dict. Abr. ed. 4: s.p. (1754).

• Typus: Luffa aegyptiaca Mill.

Synonyms

• Heterotypic
  • Amordica Neck., Elem. Bot. 1: 241 (1790).
  • Poppya Neck., Elem. Bot. 1: 241 (1790), nom. inval., opus utiq. oppr.
  • Trevouxia Scop., Introd. 152 (1777).
  • Trevauxia Steud., Nomencl. Bot., ed. 2. 2: 698 (1841), orth. var.
  • Turia Forssk., Fl. Aegypt.-Arab. 165 (1775).

Names in synonymy

• Luffa fricatoria Sessé & Moc., Fl. Mexic., ed. 2: 227 (1894), nom. illeg. non Donde (1878).
• Luffa tenera Royle, Ill. Bot. Himal. Mts. (Royle) 219 (1833–1840).

References

Primary references

• Miller, P. 1754. The Gardeners Dictionary. Abridged. Ed. 4, Vol. 1–3 (unpaged). John & James Rivington, London. DOI: 10.5962/bhl.title.79061 Reference page. 

Additional references

• Cogniaux, C.A. & Harms, H. 1924. Cucurbitaceae-Cucurbiteae-Cucumerinae. Das Pflanzenreich. Heft. 88 IV 275. 2: 1–246. Leipzig.
• Filipowicz, N., Schaefer, H. & Renner, S.S. 2014. Revisiting Luffa (Cucurbitaceae) 25 Years After C. Heiser: Species Boundaries and Application of Names Tested with Plastid and Nuclear DNA Sequences. Systematic Botany 39(1): 205–215. DOI: 10.1600/036364414X678215 PDF. Reference page. 

Links

• Hassler, M. 2019. Luffa. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2019. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2019 Dec 30. Reference page. 
• International Plant Names Index. 2019. Luffa. Published online. Accessed: Dec 30 2019.
• Govaerts, R. et al. 2019. Luffa in Kew Science Plants of the World Online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2019 Dec 30. Reference page. 
• Tropicos.org 2019. Luffa. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 30 Dec 2019.

Vernacular names

bamanankan: Kòlànfu, Kofu
English: Luffa, Loofah, Lufah
español: Luffa, Loofah, Lufah
suomi: Pesusienikurkut, sienikurkut
français: Luffa, Loofah
italiano: Luffa
latviešu: sūkļķirbji
polski: Trukwa, Gąbczak
中文: 丝瓜

For more multimedia, look at Luffa on Wikimedia Commons.