General description and special characteristics - Luffa is a climbing annual that when mature, produces oblong fruit about 1 feet long that are full of fiber and oval, black seeds. The mature rind is hard but thin and can be softened and removed by soaking in water, leaving the fiber and seeds. The fiber of mature fruit has been used for bathing or cleaning dishes.
Varieties - Angled
- Burmese Angled Luffa (พันธุ์ท้องถิ่นพม่า): Edible fruit (less than 30 cm/1 ft. long) and leaf shoots
- Chiang Dao Smal Luffa (พันธุ์ท้องถิ่นมะนอย): Cucumber-like edible fruit 3-5 cm (1-2 in) long. Does not become spongy.
Varieties - Smooth
- Smooth (ECHO) (พันธุ์เอคโค่ยาว): Produces smooth plump fruit.
- Thai Long (พันธุ์ท้องถิ่นยาว): Produces smooth long fruit (~30 cm/12 in.).
- Thai Oval (พันธุ์ท้องถิ่นสั้น): Produces large oval fruit.