Luffa aegyptiaca (Sponge Gourd)

Native to the Indian subcontinent, this annual climbing vine is cultivated throughout the tropics and naturalized in Colombia. Its yellow male and female flowers grow separately on the same plant. Young fruits are cooked as a vegetable, while mature fruits become dry and develop the fibrous internal network used for loofah sponges. Removing the rind and seeds leaves this network for bathing, cleaning and other commercial uses. Bees pollinate the daytime flowers. Photographed in the department of Magdalena, Colombia.