LUFFA ^GYPTIAC:a 131 



Luffa ^gyptiaca, Mill. {L. pentandra, Roxb.; L. petola, 

 Ser.; Momordica operculata, Blanco.) 



NoM. YuLG. — Probably bears the same names as the Tri- 

 chosanthes. 



Uses. — The root is a hydragogue cathartic even in minute 

 doses. The fruit is emollient by virtue of the large quantity 

 of mucilage it contains, but it is more interesting for other 

 properties. When cut in two, deprived of epidermis and seeds, 

 and washed until none of the mucilage remains, there is left a 

 fibrous skeleton, a sort of skein of interwoven nets that consti- 

 tutes the so-called vegetable sponge. It serves the same pur- 

 pose as a sponge and has the advantages that its fibers do not 

 rot and that they are easily kept clean. In view of its cheap- 

 ness and plentifulness in the Philippines the above advantages 

 should suffice to bring it into universal use for the toilet, for 

 surgical purposes and for cleaning in general. 



Botanical Description. — A vine with square, glabrous 

 stem. Leaves alternate, cordate, 3-5-lobulate, dentate, rough, 

 5-7-nerved. Petioles short. Flowers monoecious. Staminate 

 in axillary panicles ; calyx bell-shaped ; corolla yellow, 5 oval 

 petals, borders entire ; stamens 3 ; filaments short ; two thick 

 ones divide high up in 2 parts, thus giving the appearance of 

 5 stamens in all. Pistillate axillary, calyx adherent, 5 pointed 

 sepals ; corolla, 5 nearly triangular petals, finely dentate ; style 

 thick, short, the base encircled by 3 glandules ; stigma cordate. 

 Ovary, 3 pseudo-locules formed by the central union of the 

 placentas ; pluriovulate. Fruit oblong, terminating at the apex 

 in a deciduous lid or cover, marked with 8 or 10 black longitu- 

 dinal lines ; the interior reticulate, 3 compartments with many 

 seeds, oval, black, flat with thin borders. The natives do not dis- 

 tinguish between this specimen and the Trichosanthes, but it is to 

 be noted that the corolla of the former is not ravelled or fringed. 



Habitat. Common in Luzon and Panay. Blooms in 

 January. 



