Luffa is an interesting plant from the category of lianas, which, although it does not grow on the territory of Russia, is well known to its inhabitants. Moreover, the ways of its application can be very diverse.
The Latin name of this plant, used by specialists in the field of botany, is Luffa, therefore in Russian it is called loofah, luffa or luffa.
Loofah as a plant
From the point of view of botany, loofah is a representative of the genus of herbaceous vines, which, in turn, are part of the pumpkin plant family. It grows only in warm countries of the world, so it can be found only within Asia and Africa. And since, in addition to high temperature, it also loves humidity, it grows most actively in exclusively in regions that are characterized by a tropical or subtropical climate.
In total, there are more than 50 species of luffa in the world, however, despite the presence of some differences between them, almost all plants of this species have similar characteristics. In particular, these include the presence of leaves with five or seven well-defined lobes, which can sometimes be fused together. When the loofah blooms, large white or yellow flowers appear on it. Depending on the type of flower - pistillate or staminate - they can be either located singly or collected in inflorescences.
After flowering on the trunk of the loofah, a fruit is formed, which, growing, acquires a cylindrical shape and a coarse-fiber structure, and there are a large number of seeds inside the fruit. Luffa is predominantly a wild-growing liana, but some of its species used in the production of products from it are specially bred on farms and other agricultural institutions.
Using loofah
The main way of using loofah today is making items from it used in the field of personal hygiene. In particular, for example, one of the common products of this kind is a kind of washcloths with a pronounced fibrous structure, which actually represent the processed interior of ripe luffa fruits. Moreover, depending on the nature of the fruit and the way it is processed, the finished product can take on a variety of forms.
Such washcloths are very popular with consumers all over the world, as they are a completely natural product. At the same time, during the implementation of hygiene procedures, such a sponge provides not only effective removal of dirt, but also a massage of the whole body.
In addition, the young fruits of some species of this plant are suitable for consumption as vegetables. Finally, mature loofah seeds are used to extract oil from them for technical purposes and to make soap.
