Winged cucumber

Winged cucumber
	Foliage leaves, flowers and unripe fruit of Luffa acutangula var. Amara
Systematics
	Rosids
	Eurosiden I
Order :	Pumpkin-like (Cucurbitales)
Family :	Pumpkin family (Cucurbitaceae)
Genre :	loofah
Type :	Winged cucumber
Scientific name
	Luffa acutangula
	( L. ) Roxb.

The wing cucumber ( Luffa acutangula ) is a plant of the genus Luffa in the family of the Cucurbitaceae (Cucurbitaceae). It occurs naturally in Pakistan and northern India and is cultivated in other parts of Asia, Australia, America and Africa.

description

Illustration from Blanco

Inflorescence with the male flowers from the side, the calyx with the five calyx tips is also clearly visible

fruit

Vegetative characteristics

The winged cucumber grows as a climbing annual herbaceous plant . The ribbed stem axis has a pentagonal cross section and is rough on the ribs. The more or less rough tendrils are usually in three parts.

The alternate leaves are arranged in a petiole and a leaf blade. The petiole is 8 to 12 inches long. The pale green, simple, five- to seven-fold lobed leaf blade is round with a diameter of 15 to 20 centimeters. Both the top and bottom of the leaf can be hairy or hairless.

Inflorescence and flower

The blooming season of the winged cucumber extends over the warm time of the year. The winged cucumber is single-sexed ( monoecious ). 10 to 20 stalked, male flowers are arranged in lateral and upright, 10 to 15 centimeters long, racemose inflorescences . The also stalked female flowers are individually in the same leaf axils as the male inflorescences.

The unisexual flowers are five-fold and radially symmetrical with a diameter of about 4.5 centimeters . The five sepals are fused into a short, bell-shaped calyx tube, has a pentagonal cross-section and is sparsely hairy. The calyx lobes are the same length or slightly longer than the calyx tube. The five pale yellow petals are free. The petals are about 2 centimeters long and 2 to 2.5 centimeters wide and inverted-heart-shaped and can have an edged upper end. The three free stamens are attached to the flower tube and the free anthers are about 0.4 inches long. The ovary below is ten-ribbed. The style ends with three bilobed stigmas.

Fruit and seeds

The tenfold ribbed fruit has a length of 5 to 45 centimeters and a thickness of 3 to 10 centimeters oblong to obovate. Each of the fruits contains several black seeds, which are 1 to 1.2 inches long and 0.6 to 0.8 inches wide. The surface of the seeds is wrinkled.

Occurrence

The natural range of the winged cucumber is in Pakistan and northern India. In Pakistan, it extends over the provinces of Punjab and Sindh . In addition, the species is cultivated in large parts of the world such as China, Australia, Russia, tropical Africa and America as well as on the Mascarene Islands .

Taxonomy

It was first described as Cucumis acutangulus in 1753 by Carl von Linné in Species Plantarum . William Roxburgh transferred the species to Flora indica in 1832 ; or, descriptions of Indian Plants as Luffa acutangula in the genus Luffa . Synonyms for Luffa acutangula (L.) Roxb. are Cucumis longus var. indicus Grew , Cucurbita acutangula (L.) Blume , Luffa drastica Mart. , Luffa fluminensis Roem. , Luffa foetida Cav. , Loofah gosa ham. , Luffa subangulata Miq. , Momordica luffa Vell. and Momordica tubiflora Wall.

Of Luffa acutangula there are two varieties :

Luffa acutangula L. var. Acutangula
Luffa acutangula var. Amara (Roxb.) CBClarke

use

The soft fruits are edible and Luffa acutangula is therefore also cultivated.

swell

S. Nazimuddin, S. Shaharyar, H. Naqvi: Cucurbitaceae . In: Flora of Pakistan . S. 28 ( Luffa acutangula - Online - same text version on efloras.org :).

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h S. Nazimuddin, S. Shaharyar, H. Naqvi: Cucurbitaceae . In: Flora of Pakistan . S. 28 ( Luffa acutangula var. Acutangula - Online - same text version on efloras.org :).

↑ ^a ^b ^c S. Nazimuddin, S. Shaharyar, H. Naqvi: Cucurbitaceae . In: Flora of Pakistan . S. 28 ( Luffa acutangula var. Amra - Online - same text version on efloras.org :).

^ Luffa acutangula at Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, accessed July 14, 2017.

Web links

Commons : Winged cucumber ( Luffa acutangula ) - Collection of images, videos and audio files

[FoP1-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h S. Nazimuddin, S. Shaharyar, H. Naqvi: Cucurbitaceae . In: Flora of Pakistan . S. 28 ( Luffa acutangula var. Acutangula - Online - same text version on efloras.org :).