By Phyllis Odessey
Luffa
Loofah
Lufah
Chinese Okra
Dish Rag Gourd
whatever you call it, to me a luffa is a particular kind of sponge, which when I thought about it, I had no idea where it came from.
Luffas are growing in our learning garden in great profusion.
Luffa is from the ( Arabic ليفة līfah). It is the only sutribe of the genus of the Luffinae of the plant family Cucurbitaceae. According to google, it is a fruit that is harvested before maturity and eaten as a vegetable in Asia and Africa. In order to harvest a luffa that can be used as a sponge, one has to wait for the luffa to dry on the wine.
We are waiting and watching!
We will be at New Green City, Union Square,
October 10th with our luffas.
Come Down and Take a look.
Randall's Island Park Alliance Learning Garden 