Luffa acutangula var. acutangula

[I]
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 6. Treatment on page 14.

Vines climbing to 10 m; tendrils mostly 3-branched; stems 5-angled, scabrous along ribs. Leaves: petiole 8–12 cm; blade light green, suborbiculate, shallowly 5–7-lobed, 15–20 × 13–20 cm, lobes suborbiculate to broadly ovate, oblong-ovate, oblong-triangular, or depressed-ovate, margins irregularly and coarsely dentate, apex rounded, surfaces glabrous. Staminate racemes 10–20-flowered, 10–15 cm; peduncles and pedicels erect to spreading. Flowers 4–5 cm diam.; hypanthium 5–10 mm, sepals equaling to slightly longer than tube; petals pale-yellow, 20–25 mm, apex truncate to shallowly emarginate; stamens 3; filaments 4 mm. Pepos narrowly clavate, 10-angled, (10–) 15–30 (–45) × 5–8 cm. Seeds black, beaked, 10–12 × 6–8 mm, surfaces rugose, glabrous, beak margins obscurely winged. 2n = 26.


Phenology: Flowering Aug–Oct.
Habitat: Gardens, fields, trash heaps, cultivated in home gardens, abandoned plantings
Elevation: 10–200 m

Distribution

V6 15-distribution-map.jpg

Introduced; La., Va., Asia (Pakistan), also in West Indies, Central America, South America, elsewhere in Asia, Africa, Indian Ocean Islands, Pacific Islands, Australia

Discussion

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"broad" is not a number.

distinct +  and connate +
truncate;shallowly emarginate +
rounded +
Guy L. Nesom +
Cucumis acutangulus +
light green +
15 cm150 mm <br />0.15 m <br /> (20 cm200 mm <br />0.2 m <br />) +
5-7-lobed;suborbiculate +
13 cm130 mm <br />0.13 m <br /> (20 cm200 mm <br />0.2 m <br />) +
tubular +, saucer--shaped +, campanulate +  and rotate +
campanulate +
La. +, Va. +, Asia (Pakistan) +, also in West Indies +, Central America +, South America +, elsewhere in Asia +, Africa +, Indian Ocean Islands +, Pacific Islands +  and Australia +
10–200 m +
furrowed +  and echinate +
dehiscent +  and indehiscent +
bristly +, smooth +, hairy +  and glabrous +
tuberculate +  and muricate +
fleshy +  and hard +
4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br /> (?) +
pistillate +  and staminate +
4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br /> (5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br />) +
6 cm60 mm <br />0.06 m <br /> (15 cm150 mm <br />0.15 m <br />) +
brownish +, white-striped +  and greenish +
15 cm150 mm <br />0.15 m <br /> (50 cm500 mm <br />0.5 m <br />) +
Gardens, fields, trash heaps, cultivated in home gardens, abandoned plantings +
perennial +
dioecious +  and monoecious +
campanulate +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
umbellate;subumbellate +
solitary +, corymbose +, fasciculate +, racemose +  and paniculate +
petiolate +, estipulate +  and simple +
suborbiculate;broadly ovate oblong-ovate oblong-triangular or depressed-ovate +
not +  and winged +
sinuate-toothed +, sinuate +  and entire +
subglobose;cylindric +
erect;spreading +
erect;spreading +
30 cm300 mm <br />0.3 m <br /> (45 cm450 mm <br />0.45 m <br />) +
15 cm150 mm <br />0.15 m <br /> (30 cm300 mm <br />0.3 m <br />) +
5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br /> (8 cm80 mm <br />0.08 m <br />) +
induplicate-valvate +  and imbricate +
pale-yellow +
distinct +
obcordate;obovate oblong-obovate or obovate-cuneate +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br />) +
8 cm80 mm <br />0.08 m <br /> (12 cm120 mm <br />0.12 m <br />) +
Flowering Aug–Oct. +
Fl. Ind. ed. +
10-20-flowered +  and staminate +
10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br /> (15 cm150 mm <br />0.15 m <br />) +
not arillate +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br />) +
compressed +, broadly ellipsoid +  and oblong-ellipsoid or ellipsoid-ovoid +
0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br /> (?) +  and 0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br /> (?) +
straight +
slightly longer +
triangular-lanceolate +
Introduced +
climbing +  and procumbent +
sprawling +  and prostrate +
hirsute;scabrous +
5-angled +
columnar +
gland-dotted +
Luffa acutangula var. acutangula +
Luffa acutangula +
variety +
vine +  and climbing +