Luffa acutangula (L.) Roxb., Cucurbitaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Cucumis acutangulus L.

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: guang dong si gua

English: Chinese okra, angled loofah, dish-cloth gourd, ribbed gourd, ribbed loofah, ridged gourd, silk gourd, silky gourd, sinkwa towelsponge, sinqua melon, vegetable sponge

Japanese: tokado-hechima

Tongan: pulu kaukau

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Leaves angled, but little if at all lobed except on young shoots; stamens 3, fruit club-shaped, 1 ft. long or less, strongly 10-anged, seeds wrinkled, wingless" (Bailey & Bailey, 1976; p. 684).

Habitat/ecology:  (no habitat/ecology info known by PIER)

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Pakistan and possibly India, naturalized throughout tropics and subtropics (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Tinian Island		Wagner, W. L./ Herbst, D. R./Weitzman, A./Lorence, D.H. (2013)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 94) Voucher cited: Florence 8559
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Voucher cited: J. Florence 8559 (PAP) Cultivée
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Rimatara (Rimitara) Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Cultivée
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced cultivated	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (p. 565)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 178)
Marshall Islands Ratak Chain	Majuro (Mãjro) Atoll	introduced cultivated	Vander Velde, Nancy (2003) (p. 89)
Nauru Nauru Island	Nauru Island	introduced	Meyer, Jean-Yves (2000) (p. 99) "Potential invader".
Nauru Nauru Island	Nauru Island	introduced cultivated	Thaman, R. R./Fosberg, F. R./Manner, H. I./Hassall, D. C. (1994) (p. 124) Vouchers cited: Scully 162N (US), Swarbrick 9577 (BRIU)
Palau Palau (Belau ) (main island group)	Palau Islands (main island group)	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 178)
Papua New Guinea Bismarck Archipelago	Bismarck Archipelago	introduced cultivated	Peekel, P. G. [translated by E. E. Henty] (1984) (p. 545) Planted by Malays and Chinese, rarely by whites, and used as a vegetable.
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands		Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (p. 582) Commonly cultivated for its edible fruits, but not established.
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	introduced cultivated	Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 87)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
China China	China (People's Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013) Cultivated in S. China.
China China	Hong Kong	introduced cultivated	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 106)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
British Indian Ocean Territory Chagos Archipelago	Diego Garcia Island	introduced cultivated	Whistler, W. Arthur (1996) (p. 33)
British Indian Ocean Territory Chagos Archipelago	Diego Garcia Island	introduced invasive	Rivers, Julie (2004) (pp. 3, 7)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Agalega Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Stoddart, D. R. (1983) (p. 119)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Seychelles Islands	introduced	Invasive Species Specialist Group (2017)

Comments:  Reported as an invasive species in Nauru (Meyer, 2000; p. 99).

Control:  If you know of control methods for Luffa acutangula, please let us know.