Species on this page ( A = names approved by most authorities, s = approved as synonyms) :
SYNONYM(S) : Luffa acutangula (L.) Roxb. var. acutangula, Cucumis acutangulus L., Cucurbita acutangula (L.) Blume
ARABIC : Bamya seeny (?).
BENGALI : Jhingey.
CHINESE : 
Guang dong
si gua, 
Guang
dong si gua, 
Yue si gua,
Leng jiao si gua, 
Lin jiao si gua, Si gua (Guangdong), 
Si gua
(Cantonese Sze kwa, See kua), Si gua
(Taiwan), Sing kwa (?), Kak kuey (Hokkien - Singapore).
DANISH : Kantagurk.
ENGLISH : Angled loofah, Chinese okra, Ribbed loofah, Ribbed gourd, Silky gourd, Ridged gourd, Silk gourd.
FRENCH : Courge anguleuse de Chine, Papengaye (Mauritius), Papangay (Mauritius).
HINDI : Peerkankai, Jhinga torooee, Jhingli torai, Kali, Torai (Torooee), Turai, Hireballi.
JAPANESE : 
, 
Shokuyou hechima.
KANNADA : Heeray kayi.
KHMER : Ronôông chrung.
LAOTIAN : Looy.
MALAY : Ketola, Ketola sagi, Petola sagi, Petola Sanding, Hoyong (Indonesia), Oyong (Indonesia), Gambas (Java).
NEPALESE : Pate ghirola, Pate toriya.
ORIYA : Kunduru.
PORTUGUESE : Lufa riscada.
SINHALESE : Dara veta kola, Veta kola, Vata kolu, Wetakolu.
SPANISH : Calabaza de aristas.
TAGALOG : Patola, Patolang.
TAMIL : Pekan aki, Peerkan kai.
THAI : Buap, 
Buap
liam (Boap liam), Manoi liam.
VIETNAMESE : 
(Murop kai), 
.
VISAYAN : Buyo buyo.
Photograph of fruits at ACCE$$ TO A$IA
ENGLISH : Indian wild loofah .
FRENCH : Courge anguleuse sauvage de l'Inde.
Luffa acutangula (L.) Roxb. var. forskalii (Harms) Heiser &
Schilling
ENGLISH : African wild loofah.
FRENCH : Courge anguleuse sauvage du Yemen.
SYNONYM(S) : Cucurbita luffa hort., Luffa cylindrica (L.) M.J. Roem, Luffa pentandra Roxb., Momordica cylindrica L., Momordica luffa L., Luffa aegyptiaca P. Miller
ARABIC : Lûf.
CHINESE : Si
gua, 
Shui gua (Cantonese Shui kwa), 
Tian luo gua, Tian si gua.
DANISH : Luffa, Vegetabilsk svamp.
DUTCH : Loofah, Loefahspons, Plantaardige spons.
ENGLISH : Loofah, Smooth loofah, Rag gourd, Vegetable-sponge, Sponge gourd, Dishrag gourd, Dish-cloth gourd, Rag gourd
ESTONIAN : Ruljas käsnkõrvits.
FRENCH : Courge torchon, Luffa d'Egypte, Eponge végétale, Pétole (Mauritius), Courge cylindrique de Chine.
GERMAN : Schwammgurke, Schwammkürbis, Ägyptische Schwammkürbis.
HINDI : Mozhuku peerkankai, Jhinga, Dhundal, Turai, Meethi torai.
ITALIAN : Luffa, Luffa d'Egitto, Petola, Spugna vegetale.
JAPANESE : , Hechima.
KHMER : Ronôông muul.
LAOTIAN : Bwàp khôm.
MALAY : Ketola manis, Petola buntal, Petola manis, Blustru (Indonesia), Belustru (Indonesia).
NEPALESE : Palo, Ghiu toriya.
PORTUGUESE : Esponja-vegetal.
SINHALESE : Vatakolu.
SPANISH : Lufa, Esponja vegetal, Pepino para paste (El Salvador, Guatemala).
SUNDANESE : Emes.
TAGALOG : Patola.
THAI : 
Buap
hom (Boap hom, Buop horm), Buap klom.
TURKISH : Luf.
VIETNAMESE : 
.
Photograph of fruits at ACCE$$ TO A$IA.
Photograph of cracked dried fruit showing sponge inside by Barry Hammel at at W3TROPICOS
ENGLISH : Burmese wild loofah .
FRENCH : Courge cylindrique sauvage de Burma.
Data needed (probably a synonym of Luffa aegyptiaca Mill.)
NEPALESE : Chyunke van toriya.
ACCE$$ to A$IAN VEGETABLE$ 1997, Thesaurus. Provided by the Institute for Horticultural Development, Victoria, Australia. (Sets of names (romanised) and photographs, one for each of the most common Asian vegetables found in Australia).
EURODICAUTOM 1999, Multilingual Terminological Database, European Commission Translation Service. (12 languages of the European Community). < http://eurodic.echo.lu/cgi-bin/edicbin/EuroDicWWW.pl >
Herklots G.A.C. 1972, Vegetables in South East Asia. George Allen & Unwin Ltd. London (or Hafner Press in New York). (Cantonese - traditional characters + romanization, English, Latin).
Hong Kong Herbarium 1978, Checklist of Hong Kong Plants, Agriculture & Fisheries Department Bulletin n°1, Government Printer, Hong Kong.
Hô Pham-Hoang, 1991, An Illustrated Flora of Vietnam, Set 1, Vol. 2, pp. 718 - 727.
Jansen G.J., Gildemacher B.H. & Phuphathanaphong L. 1993, Luffa P. Miller, In Siemonsma J.S. & Kasem Piluek (Editors) : Plant Resources of South-East Asia N°8 . Vegetables. Pudoc Scientific Publishers, Wageningen. pp 194 - 197.
Sugahara Tatsuyuki et al., 1992, New Edition of an Illustrated Encyclopedia of Japanese Ingredients, Kenpakusha.
USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN). [Online Database] National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Available: www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxdump.pl?luffa (06 February 2000).
Wiersema J. H. & León B. 1999, World Economic Plants : a Standard Reference. CRC Press LLC.
Xie Zongwa & Yu Youqin (Editors), 1996, Materia Medica, Chinese Terminology, Vol. 1, Renminweisheng Publishing House Beijing, China.
Contributors to this page (Personal communication) : Oscar Villalta.
NOTE : There is some considerable confusion between the two very distinct types of Luffa. This has led to a lot of mislabelling in catalogues, magazines, on market stalls and even in reference books. We have sorted some names (such as the Chinese - Cantonese "Si gua" and "Shui gua"), but in February 2000 we are not able to sort in particular the various names from India. We suspect that those listed above are derived from 4 or 5 Indian languages not just Hindi, and obviously they are all badly transliterated.
Date created: 06 / 02 / 2000
Authorised by Prof. Snow Barlow
Last modified: 03 / 07 / 2007
Access: No restriction
Copyright © 1997 - 2000 The University of Melbourne.
Maintained by: Michel H. Porcher