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Luffa acutangula var. acutangula
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Family:
CUCURBITACEAE
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Citation: Luffa acutangula (L.) Roxb., Hort. Bengal 70. 1841 & Fl. Ind. 3:713.1832, var. acutangula; Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 2: 615. 1879; Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras 533(377). 1919; Chakrav., Fasc. Fl. Ind. 11: 69. 1982; Vajr., Fl. Palghat Dist. 217. 1990; Sunil & Sivadasan, Fl. Alappuzha Dist. 320. 2009.
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Malayalam Name(s):
Chathurapeechan, Djinji, Peechinga
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Tamil name(s):
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English name(s):
Angled Luffa, Angled Loofah, Ribbed gourd, Ridged gourd, Vegetable sponge
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Description:
Annual, climber with mostly 3-fid sub scabrous tendrils. Stem 5-angled, scabrous along ribs. Leaves pale green, roundish, palmately 5-7-lobed, 15-20 cm across, glabrous; petiole 8-12 cm long. Probracts fleshy with 3-10, glistening glands on upper surface, 3-7 mm long, 2-4 mm broad. Flowers pale yellow, pedicellate, c. 4.5 cm across. Male raceme 10-15 cm long, erect, axillary 10-20-flowered, female flowers solitary in same axil as males. Calyx tube pentagonal, slightly hairy, lobes equal to slightly longer than tube. Petals obcordate, c. 2 cm long, 2-2.5 cm broad, emarginate or not. Stamens 3, filaments c. 4 mm long. Ovary 10-angled. Fruit (10-) 15-30 (-45) cm long, 6-10 cm in diameter, acutely 10-angled. Seeds black, 10-12 mm long, 6-8 mm broad, rugose, emarginate.
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Habit:
Climber
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Flowering & Fruiting:
November-June
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District(s):
Alappuzha, Palakkad, Idukki, Wayanad, Thrissur
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Medicinal:
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Habitat:
Cultivated
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Distribution:
Indo-Malesia
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Aquatic:
No
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Epiphyte(s):
No
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Saprophyte:
No
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Stem parasite:
No
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Root parasite:
No
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Flower colour(s):
Yellow
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Weed:
No
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Monocot/Dicot:
Dicotyledonous Plants
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Exotic:
No
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Garden:
No
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Edible:
No
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Vegetable:
Yes
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Endemic to:
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IUCN status:
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Altitude:
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Localities:
Panthenthode border, Vallikkunnam
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