Editing Luffa (section)

{{Short description|Genus of vines}}
{{About|the plant|the sponge made from it|Exfoliation (cosmetology)#Loofah|}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = Luffa aegyptica.jpg
| image_caption = Egyptian luffa with nearly mature fruit
| display_parents = 2
| taxon = Luffa
| authority = [[Philip Miller|Mill.]]<ref name="OriginOfNomenclature" />
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = 
* ''[[Luffa acutangula]]'' (L.) Roxb. (angled luffa, ridged luffa, vegetable gourd)
* ''[[Luffa aegyptiaca]]'' Mill. (smooth luffa, Egyptian luffa, dishrag gourd, gourd loofa)
* ''[[Luffa astorii]]'' Svenson
* ''[[Luffa echinata]]'' Roxb.
* ''[[Luffa graveolens]]'' Roxb.
* ''[[Luffa operculata]]'' (L.) Cogn. (wild loofa, sponge cucumber)
* ''[[Luffa quinquefida]]'' (Hook. & Arn.) Seem.
* ''[[Luffa saccata]]'' F.Muell. ex I.Telford
* ''[[Luffa sepium]]'' (G.Mey.) C.Jeffrey
| subdivision_ref = <ref name = "POWO" />
| synonyms = 
*''Poppya'' <small>[[Neck.]]</small>
*''Trevouxia'' <small>[[Scop.]]</small>
*''Turia'' <small>[[Forssk.]] ex J.F.Gmel.</small>
|synonyms_ref = <ref name = "POWO">{{cite POWO |id=30179638-2 |title=''Luffa'' Mill. |accessdate=26 October 2023}}</ref>
}}

'''''Luffa''''' is a genus of tropical and subtropical [[vine]]s in the [[pumpkin]], [[Squash (plant)|squash]] and [[gourd]] family ([[Cucurbitaceae]]).

In everyday non-technical usage, the luffa, also spelled '''loofah'''<ref>{{Cite web |title=loofah {{!}} Collins Dictionary |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/loofah}}</ref> or less frequently '''loofa''',<ref>{{Cite web |title=loofa {{!}} Collins Dictionary |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/loofa}}</ref> usually refers to the fruits of the species ''[[Luffa aegyptiaca]]'' and ''[[Luffa acutangula]]''. It is cultivated and eaten as a vegetable, but must be harvested at a young stage of development to be edible. The vegetable is popular in India, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Vietnam.<ref>{{cite web|last=Christman|first=Steve|date=March 13, 2010|url=http://www.floridata.com/ref/l/luff_aeg.cfm |title=''Luffa aegyptiaca''|website= Floridata.com|access-date=September 15, 2013|url-status=live|archive-date=August 1, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130801212039/http://www.floridata.com/ref/l/luff_aeg.cfm}}</ref> When the fruit fully ripens, it becomes too fibrous for eating. The fully developed fruit is the source of the loofah [[Sponge (tool)|scrubbing sponge]].