Luffa acutangula, Luffa aegyptiaca.

Luffa acutangula Roxb. Cucurbitaceae. Strainer Vine.

Old World tropics. This plant is cultivated in India for food purposes and is said by Drury to be one of the best of the native vegetables and to be much used in curries. Roxburgh says that, when the fruit is boiled and dressed with butter, pepper and salt, it is little inferior to green peas. This club-shaped gourd, about 10 or 12 inches long, is eaten boiled or pickled, but the taste is insipid, says Don. This is the papengaye of the negroes of Africa, says Oliver, and presents bitter and poisonous, as well as edible varieties.

Luffa aegyptiaca Mill. Bonnet Gourd. Dish-Cloth Gourd. Loop.

Old World tropics. This species is cultivated for its fruit throughout tropical Africa. It is the sooly-qua of the Chinese, a club-shaped, wrinkled gourd, said to be eaten. It is cultivated for food purposes in India, where it is called ghia. It is considered by the natives of Burma a delicious vegetable. The interior, netted fibers, under the name loof, are used in Turkish baths for fleshrubbers. The plant is grown as a curiosity in American gardens.

Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World, 1919, was edited by U. P. Hedrick.