Loofah

Medicinal Uses

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Flowers  Fruit  Leaves  Oil  Seed  Shoots | Edible Uses: OilFruit - raw or cooked[418 ]. Young fruits can be eaten in salads like cucumber[301 ]. They are also used in soups, curries etc[300 , 301 ]. The fruit is best picked young, when about 10cm long, and used like courgettes[296 ]. Older fruits become fibrous and are bitter and inedible[300 , 418 ]. Young shoots, leaves and flower buds - cooked. Steamed and served with rice[301 ]. Used in stir-fries[296 ]. Seed - roasted, salted and eaten as a delicacy[301 ]. A cooking oil is obtained from the seed[301 , 418 ].

Cultivation

A plant of the lowland tropics, where it is found at elevations up to 1,000 metres. It can also be grown in subtropical and temperate areas so long as there is a growing season of 4 months or more[418 ]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 23 - 27°c, but can tolerate 10 - 38°c[418 ]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,200 - 2,000mm, but tolerates 300 - 3,000mm[418 ]. Yields can be reduced in areas of heavy rain[300 ]. Prefers a position in full sun[238 ]. Plants succeed in poor soils, but fruit best in soils of moderate fertility[296 ]. Plants are most productive when grown in well-drained soils with a high content of organic matter[300 ]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6.5, tolerating 4.3 - 8.3[418 ]. Plants can produce their first crop of immature fruits within 2 months from seed[296 ]. Mature fruits take 3 - 4 months to ripen[418 ]. Yields of up to 30 - 40 tonnes per hectare, or 20 - 25 fruits per plant, have been recorded[418 ]. Hand pollination of female flowers in the morning can increase yields[300 ]. There are some named varieties[300 , 301 ].

Known Hazards

None known

Habitats

Not known in a truly wild situation, the plant was probably originally native to India but has been cultivated for so long that its origins are uncertain[521 ].