Luffas are vining annual plants that produce fruits for food and the luffa sponge. The young fruits of Angled Luffa are edible raw or cooked. Although two species produce a fibrous skeleton in the mature fruit, Smooth Luffa (Luffa cylindrica) is the preferred species for the luffa sponge. This species, C. acutangula, is preferred for edible fruit.

Angled Luffa

Burmese

Edible fruit less than 30 cm (1 ft) long and edible leaf shoots.
 

Chiang Dao Small Luffa

Cucumber-like edible fruit 3-5 cm (1-2 in) long. Does not become spongy