Luffa operculata

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Luffa operculata
Luffa operculata

Luffa operculata

Systematics
Eurosiden I
Order : Pumpkin-like (Cucurbitales)
Family : Pumpkin family (Cucurbitaceae)
Subfamily : Cucurbitoideae
Genre : loofah
Type : Luffa operculata
Scientific name
Luffa operculata
( L. ) Cogn.
Luffa operculata

Luffa operculata is a plant from the genus Luffa in the family of the Cucurbitaceae (Cucurbitaceae). It iswidespreadin the Neotropics .

description

Male inflorescence and young fruit.
Ripe, dry, brown fruit with the fibers inside.

Luffa operculata grows as a climbing herbaceous plant . The stalks , several meters long, are angular. There are tendrils. The alternate leaves have long stalks. The leaf blade is heart-shaped to kidney-shaped and slightly three- or five-lobed to smooth-edged.

Luffa operculata is single-sexed ( monoecious ). The unisexual flowers are radial symmetry and five-fold with a double flower envelope . The five yellow, free petals form a bell-shaped crown. The male flowers stand in axillary, racemose inflorescences over a long inflorescence stem. The female flowers and with them the fruits stand individually in the leaf axils. The male flowers contain five free stamens . In addition to the pistil, the female flowers also contain five staminodes .

The fruit stalks are 7 to 20 mm long. With a length of 6 to 10 cm and a diameter of 3 to 5 cm, the egg-shaped fruit is relatively small compared to other types of loofah . The fruits are spiked on the outside, have a pithy fabric and a fine fiber network on the inside. The almost black, smooth seeds are flattened and 7.5 to 10 mm long.

The basic chromosome number is x = 13.

use

Luffa operculata was used by the indigenous people of Colombia to trigger an artificial, intense cold. Since both hay fever and sinusitis occur frequently in the western world, the use of Luffa operculata is also becoming increasingly common in Europe:

One form of application is homeopathy . So there have been homeopathic nasal drops for a long time that are used for numerous diseases of the nose or the paranasal sinuses . Different dosages are used for hay fever and similar allergy-related diseases. The extremely low-dose medicines customary in homeopathy should be relatively well tolerated, but do not trigger the "medicinal colds" cultivated by the Indians.

Another form of application is much closer to the original: parts of the plant are boiled and the highly concentrated brew is drizzled into the nose. This usually triggers a very intense cold, which is supposed to cleanse the sinuses.

Evidence for the effectiveness of this or that treatment method is pending. In a study from the American Journal of Rhinology, significant structural changes in the respiratory palatal epithelium were demonstrated in an ex vivo model , resulting from treatment with L. operculata . This was taken as an indication of the harmfulness of that treatment method.

distribution

This neotropical species occurs from Panama via Colombia , Guyana , Suriname , Venezuela , Brazil and Ecuador to Peru .

Taxonomy

This species was in 1759 under the name ( Basionym ) Momordica operculata by Carl Linnaeus in Systema Naturae , Editio Decima 2, p 1278 first published . It was placed in 1878 under the name Luffa operculata by Célestin Alfred Cogniaux in Flora Brasiliensis , 6 (4), pp. 12-13, plate 1 in the genus Luffa . Synonyms for Luffa operculata (L.) Cogn. are: Cucumis sepium G.Mey. , Elaterium quinquefidum Hook. & Arn. , Luffa astorii Svenson , Luffa operculata var. Intermedia Cogn. , Luffa operculata var. Lobata Cogn. , Luffa purgans (Mart.) Mart. , Luffa quinquefida (Hook. & Arn.) Seem. , Momordica operculata L. , Momordica purgans Mart. , Momordica quinquefida (Hook. & Arn.) Hook. & Arn. , Poppya operculata (L.) M. Roem.

literature

Web links

Commons : Luffa operculata  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Bruno Wolters: Drugs arrow poison and Indian medicine, medicinal plants from South America , Urs Freud Verlag. ISBN 3-924733-01-5
  2. ↑ aerztezeitung.de: Luffa operculata is a dried pumpkin fruit ; February 26, 2007.
  3. ↑ www.luffa.de
  4. ↑ MA Menon-Miyake, R. Carvalho de Oliveira, G. Lorenzi-Filho, PH Saldiva, O. Butugan: Luffa operculata affects mucociliary function of the isolated frog palate. In: American journal of rhinology. Volume 19, Number 4, 2005 Jul-Aug, pp. 353-357, ISSN  1050-6586 . PMID 16171168 .
  5. ↑ Histological features: Mônica Aidar Menon-Miyake, Paulo Hilário Nascimento Saldiva, Geraldo Lorenzi-Filho, Marcelo Alves Ferreira, Ossamu Butugan, Regiani Carvalho de Oliveira: Luffa operculata effects on the epithelium of frog palate: histological features. In: Revista Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia. 71, 2005, pp. 132-138, doi : 10.1590 / S0034-72992005000200003 .
  6. ↑ a b Luffa operculata in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
  7. ↑ First publication scanned at biodiversitylibrary.org .
  8. ↑ Luffa operculata at Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis