Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Luffa cylindrica
esponja, esponja vegetal, loofa, sponge gourds, vegetable sponge, wash sponge
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Plantae
Phylum
Magnoliophyta
Class
Magnoliopsida (= Dicotyledoneae)
Order
Violales
Family
Cucurbitaceae
Genus
Luffa
Species
cylindrica
Taxon category: Accepted
Syn.: Luffa acutangula.
Origin: Introduced - established
Year of first record: 1985
Mode of introduction: Intentional
Introduction Pathway: Intentional
Subpathway: Agriculture/Horticulture
Introduced status: Human dependent
Invasive status: Unlikely to become invasive
Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.
- Flores, E. (1985) Censo de Plantas Introducidas desde el Canal de Itabaca hasta Puerto Ayora. Tesis de Ingeniero Forestal, Univ. Técnica Luis Vargas Torres, Esmeraldas: 1-132.
- Fryxell, P. (1979) The Natural History of the Cotton Tribe (MALVACEAE - Tribe Gossypieae). College Station: Texas A & M University Press.
- Guézou, A. Trueman, M., Buddenhagen, E., Chamorro, S., Guerrero, A.M., Pozo, P., Atkinson, R. (2010) An extensive Alien Plan Inventory from the Inhabited Areas of Galapagos Plos One/ www.plosone.org. Volume 5/ Issue 4/e10276
- Lundh, J.P. (1995) Some additional information and comments on the Annotated Check list of Vascular Plants of the Galapagos Islands by Lawesson, Adsersen and Bentley. Charles Darwin Research Station, unpublished.
- Tropicos.org. (2017) Database of Missouri Botanical Garden. Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 06 Oct 2017 <http://www.tropicos.org
You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.
This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Luffa cylindrica", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=415. Accessed 1 November 2026.