From Egyptian Arabic, English has recently borrowed the term loofah (also spelled luffa).
The luffa sponges were growing nicely until spider mites attacked.
The husk of the luffa gourd, which was harvested from a tropical vine, seemed particularly suited to the job — its tangled fibers could impart a healthy glow without chafing.
While I don't understand why he thinks this way, I accept that marriage is based on mutual respect, on give and take, on you luffa my back, I'll luffa yours.
Shredded squid with thin, crunchy Chinese celery; luffa, a juicy soft squash sautéed with garlic and tiny, smoky red salted shrimp; bitter melon sautéed with dried anchovies; and a spicy, brothy stomach and sour mustard soup.
But the spiciness of ma-po bean curd ($6.95), made with ground pork, gave shape to this otherwise bland dish, while kin-gou squash ($7.95) was actually luffa, a kind of gourd with a mellow, lightly sweet flavor that made a refreshing contrast to the more spicy offerings.
Help them get the materials, but let them do the work, as they did with their own idea of building a curving bamboo trellis for the luffa vines and beans.
Many of the vegetables are Asian natives -- bumpy bitter melons, lotus stems, long beans, banana flowers, luffa squashes and pungent Chinese celery.
Mr. Qiu offered a dish of simmered Chinese okra (also called silk squash or angles luffa) with clams, a home-style dish that Mr. Yen has liked since he was a child.
Two species (Luffa acutangula and L. aegyptiaca) are commonly cultivated for their fruits, which are edible when young and have a fibrous spongelike interior that is used domestically for bathing and for washing dishes.
Loofah (genus Luffa), also spelled luffa, also called vegetable sponge, sponge gourd, or rag gourd, genus of seven species of annual climbing vines of the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae), native to the Old World tropics.
