bind a string around the tubular - shape loofah sponge and advert it in your lavatory in the shower , tub or sink basin . Not a sponge with stemma in the sea , this constituent , all - instinctive material comes from a plant that is easy - to - grow . debate plant a loofah in your garden to glean a provision of quick study for yourself and others . All you demand is a gay placement with prolific soils and a large trellis or fencing to stand the clambering stem .

Origins

Loofah sponge are created from the cucumber - corresponding fruit of the smooth loofah vine ( Luffa aegyptiaca ) . This fast - maturate annual vine , to 30 foot in length , is aboriginal to northeastern Africa although a naturalise smoke across much of tropic Asia .

The Loofah Fruit

After the five - petaled showy golden yellow bloom appear on the vine and are pollinated by bees , the loofah fruits develop . Inititally the fruits look like gumbo pods or minuscule cuke , but eventually elongate and grow into guild - alike fruit ( botanically a fruit called a " pepo " ) that are 12 to upwardly of 24 to 30 - inch in length and 3 to 5 - inches in diameter according to Floridata ’s website . Once advanced and admit to dry on the vine , the outer skin dries and Brown , allowing the core of the fruit to also dry out without rotting or molding . Do n’t let fruits give in to fall hoarfrost .

Features

After the skin , flesh and seeds are remove from a dried loofah fruit , the complex , hallow and cannular matrix of tan fiber continue . According to Jack Arnott of Cobb County Cooperative Extension Service , hook the fiber people in mild hydrogen peroxide solution bleaches it to a lighter tan color and aid ensure no fungal or other organisms remain to deteriorate the sponge - similar fibers . In a crossbreeding - section of the fruit , the matrix of fiber is ventilated by four large voids where the juicy flesh and seeds once were .

Qualities

When ironic , the character in the vegetable sponge sponge are stiff but once submerged in stale or fond water become well soft and silky in texture . The fibers can be dyed as well as exposed to soaps and detergent and wash away by hand or in machines . The fiber also can be issue to shape particles of desired size . Overall , loufah sponge sponges keep back their fiber and overall shape and wholeness for twelvemonth , considerably longer than military man - made sponger materials .

Uses

When develop on the vine , unseasoned loufah sponge fruit ( no larger than 6 - in in distance ) may be harvested and cooked like summer squash and used in stew and soups . The sponge fibers act as a gentile exfoliant on skin and increases blood line circulation on the skin to help alleviate symptom associated with rheumatoid arthritis and arthritis grant to Jack Arnott of Cobb County Cooperative Extension Service . The fibers also act as promotional material material , filter floss or as textured foxiness materials for decorations .

References

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