If you’ve ever used one of those natural scrubby sponges in the shower, there’s a good chance you’ve held Luffa aegyptiaca in your hand. This climbing vine, originally from South and Southeast Asia, has been grown for centuries across Asia and eventually made its way into European botany after being cultivated in Egypt—hence the name aegyptiaca. Early botanists like Johann Veslingius even called it the “Egyptian cucumber,” which honestly feels pretty charming.
When the fruit is young, it’s tender enough to cook and eat like a vegetable. But once it matures, it turns into a tough, fibrous shell—the perfect natural sponge. People have used those fibers for everything from washing dishes to exfoliating skin long before “eco-friendly” was a buzzword. The seeds even produce an edible oil, and the leftover seed meal can be used as animal feed or fertilizer.
如果你曾經在淋浴時使用過那種天然的搓澡海綿，那麼你很可能已經摸過絲瓜了。這種藤本植物原產於南亞和東南亞，在亞洲各地種植了數個世紀，最終在埃及栽培後傳入歐洲植物學界－因此得名「埃及絲瓜」（Luffa aegyptiaca）。像約翰·維斯林吉烏斯這樣的早期植物學家甚至稱它為“埃及黃瓜”，這名字聽起來確實很迷人。
這種果實幼嫩時，口感鮮嫩，可以像蔬菜一樣烹調食用。但成熟後，它會變成堅韌的纖維外殼——堪稱完美的天然海綿。早在「環保」成為流行語之前，人們就利用這些纖維進行各種用途，從洗碗到去角質，無所不包。種子還能榨取食用油，而剩餘的種子粕則可用作動物飼料或肥料。
Notes 筆記
- Luffa aegyptiaca is an annual vine species cultivated for its fruit and is native to South and Southeast Asia. Common names include Egyptian cucumber, Vietnamese luffa, common luffa, bath sponge, dishcloth gourd, sponge gourd, towel gourd, dishrag gourd, vegetable sponge, rag gourd, wash-rag sponge, smooth luffa, and scrubber gourd. The name Luffa cylindrica is a widely used synonym.
- The epithet “aegyptiaca” was assigned in the 16th century, when European botanists encountered the plant through its cultivation in Egypt. In European botanical literature, the plant was first described by Johann Veslingius in 1638, who referred to it as the Egyptian cucumber. Veslingius is also credited with introducing the name “Luffa.”
- The young fruits are eaten as a vegetable. When fully ripened, the fruit becomes strongly fibrous and inedible, and is used to make natural scrubbing sponges. An edible oil can be extracted from the seeds; the remaining oil meal has been reported as a potential feed ingredient for animals such as rabbits and catfish or used as a fertilizer.
- Luffa has been cultivated throughout Asia for centuries as a household cleaning tool, and today the natural fibers are popular in eco-friendly cosmetic products due to their gently abrasive exfoliating qualities.
- 絲瓜是一種一年生藤本植物，因其果實而栽培，原產於南亞和東南亞。它的常見名稱包括埃及黃瓜、越南絲瓜、普通絲瓜、浴球、洗碗絲瓜、海綿絲瓜、毛巾絲瓜、抹布絲瓜、蔬菜海綿、碎絲瓜、洗碗海綿、光滑絲瓜和擦洗絲瓜。圓柱絲瓜（Luffa cylindrica）是其常用的同義詞。
- 「aegyptiaca」這個種加詞是在 16 世紀歐洲植物學家在埃及種植這種植物時發現它的。在歐洲植物學文獻中，約翰·維斯林吉烏斯於 1638 年首次描述了這種植物，並將其稱為埃及黃瓜。維斯林吉烏斯也被認為是「Luffa」（絲瓜）這個名稱的提出者。
- 幼果可作蔬菜食用。完全成熟後，果實纖維變得非常多，不可食用，只能用來製作天然的擦洗海綿。種子可榨取食用油；剩餘的油粕據報道可作為兔子和鯰魚等動物的潛在飼料成分，或用作肥料。
- 幾個世紀以來，絲瓜在亞洲各地被廣泛種植，用作家庭清潔工具。如今，由於其溫和的磨砂去角質特性，這種天然纖維在環保化妝品中廣受歡迎。
References 參考資料
- Wikipedia: Luffa aegyptiaca
- 維基百科: 絲瓜
Plants Posts 植物的帖子
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