Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Luffa"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Luffa \Luf"fa\, n. [NL., fr. Ar. l[=u]fah.] (Bot.)
(a) A small genus of tropical cucurbitaceous plants having
white flowers, the staminate borne in racemes, and large
fruits with a dry fibrous pericarp. The fruit of several
species and the species themselves, esp. {L.
[AE]gyptiaca}, are called dishcloth gourds.
(b) Any plant of this genus, or its fruit.
(c) The fibrous skeleton of the fruit, used as a sponge and
in the manufacture of caps and women's hats; -- written
also {loofah}.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
luffa
n 1: the dried fibrous part of the fruit of a plant of the genus
Luffa; used as a washing sponge or strainer [syn: {loofa},
{loofah}, {loufah sponge}]
2: any of several tropical annual climbers having large yellow
flowers and edible young fruits; grown commercially for
the mature fruit's dried fibrous interior that is used as
a sponge [syn: {dishcloth gourd}, {sponge gourd}, {rag
gourd}, {strainer vine}]
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