25-50 word discussion reply to my original

 

   I personally had no idea that the luffa sponges that I regularly use  were from a plant! This is so crazy to me; I think I thought it was more  of a man-made material than anything. You brought up some very good  points during this post and I would have been on the same wavelength as  you were with thinking that all-natural sponges came from the sea. That  is after I found out it was an actual sponge ha-ha! I can’t say that I  have ever used them for cleaning anything other than my body though, so  it was very interesting to learn that people do use them for other  purposes. It also only makes sense unfortunately for use being the  consumers that the rising demand for the luffa causes the price to  coincidently go up as well. 

 Have you personally ever used them for some of the other tasks that you mentioned? 

Great  post this week and thank you for this awesome new knowledge and respect  that I now have for something I only thought as a shower appliance!

Have a great week!

Kamoryn

Running Head: ETHNOBOTANY 1

ETHNOBOTANY 3

Ethnobotany

Student’s Name(s)

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Ethnobotany

Luffa Sponges

Luffa sponges are made from the luffa gourd plant, scientifically known as Luffa aegyptiaca. The luffa sponges are used as a shower accessory for exfoliating and cleansing the human skin. They are used as scrubbers and can be used as cleaning products for the household like sinks, scrubbing tiles, and hard-clean surfaces. Extracting luffa sponges from the luffa gourd plant is procedural and involves a series of processes. After the plant has grown and the flowers grow long, the gourds are harvested from the plant and left to dry for some months, say six. After the gourds dry, they are soaked in water, peeled, and the seeds are removed (Watson, 2019). Additionally, when they are dry and clean, they can be slid or shaped or cut and sold as sponges. 

           The sponges’ primary use is recreational and for household purposes where they are used for bathing, as body scrubbers, general hard-cleaning, making crafts, and for filtering. The luffa gourd plant has several commercial fields with the increasing imports of luffa sponges into the United States. Currently, the luffa sponges importing countries include El Salvador, Columbia, Venezuela, Taiwan, Guatemala, and China (Davis, 2018). The Missouri and North Carolina 1990s studies also revealed that commercial production of luffa sponge gourds is practical in the United States. The increased demand for the luffa products shows an increase in price ranging between 0.10 to 0.40 dollars per sponge in the Southeastern United States like Florida and North Carolina (Davis, 2018). 

           The primary substitutes for the luffa sponges are silicon-exfoliating brush being long lasting. Besides, washcloth and antibacterial shower mitt mark the other alternatives for the luffa products. The fascinating thing about my product is that I thought that all-natural sponges come from the sea animals except for the commercial sponges. However, I now comprehend that plants play a critical role in various aspects of human life. 

References

Davis, J. (2018). Commercial luffa sponge gourd production. NC State Extension Publications | Browse Popular Publications. 

https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/commercial-luffa-sponge-gourd-production

Watson, K. (2019). Loofah sponge: What to know about using it to clean and exfoliate. Healthline. 

https://www.healthline.com/health/loofah-sponge

Running Head: ETHNOBOTANY 1

ETHNOBOTANY 3

Ethnobotany

Student’s Name(s)

Institutional Affiliation(s)

Ethnobotany

Luffa Sponges

Luffa sponges are made from the luffa gourd plant, scientifically known as Luffa aegyptiaca. The luffa sponges are used as a shower accessory for exfoliating and cleansing the human skin. They are used as scrubbers and can be used as cleaning products for the household like sinks, scrubbing tiles, and hard-clean surfaces. Extracting luffa sponges from the luffa gourd plant is procedural and involves a series of processes. After the plant has grown and the flowers grow long, the gourds are harvested from the plant and left to dry for some months, say six. After the gourds dry, they are soaked in water, peeled, and the seeds are removed (Watson, 2019). Additionally, when they are dry and clean, they can be slid or shaped or cut and sold as sponges. 

           The sponges’ primary use is recreational and for household purposes where they are used for bathing, as body scrubbers, general hard-cleaning, making crafts, and for filtering. The luffa gourd plant has several commercial fields with the increasing imports of luffa sponges into the United States. Currently, the luffa sponges importing countries include El Salvador, Columbia, Venezuela, Taiwan, Guatemala, and China (Davis, 2018). The Missouri and North Carolina 1990s studies also revealed that commercial production of luffa sponge gourds is practical in the United States. The increased demand for the luffa products shows an increase in price ranging between 0.10 to 0.40 dollars per sponge in the Southeastern United States like Florida and North Carolina (Davis, 2018). 

           The primary substitutes for the luffa sponges are silicon-exfoliating brush being long lasting. Besides, washcloth and antibacterial shower mitt mark the other alternatives for the luffa products. The fascinating thing about my product is that I thought that all-natural sponges come from the sea animals except for the commercial sponges. However, I now comprehend that plants play a critical role in various aspects of human life. 

References

Davis, J. (2018). Commercial luffa sponge gourd production. NC State Extension Publications | Browse Popular Publications. 

https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/commercial-luffa-sponge-gourd-production

Watson, K. (2019). Loofah sponge: What to know about using it to clean and exfoliate. Healthline. 

https://www.healthline.com/health/loofah-sponge

Running Head: ETHNOBOTANY 1

ETHNOBOTANY 3

Ethnobotany

Student’s Name(s)

Institutional Affiliation(s)

Ethnobotany

Luffa Sponges

Luffa sponges are made from the luffa gourd plant, scientifically known as Luffa aegyptiaca. The luffa sponges are used as a shower accessory for exfoliating and cleansing the human skin. They are used as scrubbers and can be used as cleaning products for the household like sinks, scrubbing tiles, and hard-clean surfaces. Extracting luffa sponges from the luffa gourd plant is procedural and involves a series of processes. After the plant has grown and the flowers grow long, the gourds are harvested from the plant and left to dry for some months, say six. After the gourds dry, they are soaked in water, peeled, and the seeds are removed (Watson, 2019). Additionally, when they are dry and clean, they can be slid or shaped or cut and sold as sponges. 

           The sponges’ primary use is recreational and for household purposes where they are used for bathing, as body scrubbers, general hard-cleaning, making crafts, and for filtering. The luffa gourd plant has several commercial fields with the increasing imports of luffa sponges into the United States. Currently, the luffa sponges importing countries include El Salvador, Columbia, Venezuela, Taiwan, Guatemala, and China (Davis, 2018). The Missouri and North Carolina 1990s studies also revealed that commercial production of luffa sponge gourds is practical in the United States. The increased demand for the luffa products shows an increase in price ranging between 0.10 to 0.40 dollars per sponge in the Southeastern United States like Florida and North Carolina (Davis, 2018). 

           The primary substitutes for the luffa sponges are silicon-exfoliating brush being long lasting. Besides, washcloth and antibacterial shower mitt mark the other alternatives for the luffa products. The fascinating thing about my product is that I thought that all-natural sponges come from the sea animals except for the commercial sponges. However, I now comprehend that plants play a critical role in various aspects of human life. 

References

Davis, J. (2018). Commercial luffa sponge gourd production. NC State Extension Publications | Browse Popular Publications. 

https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/commercial-luffa-sponge-gourd-production

Watson, K. (2019). Loofah sponge: What to know about using it to clean and exfoliate. Healthline. 

https://www.healthline.com/health/loofah-sponge

Running Head: ETHNOBOTANY 1

ETHNOBOTANY 3

Ethnobotany

Student’s Name(s)

Institutional Affiliation(s)

Ethnobotany

Luffa Sponges

Luffa sponges are made from the luffa gourd plant, scientifically known as Luffa aegyptiaca. The luffa sponges are used as a shower accessory for exfoliating and cleansing the human skin. They are used as scrubbers and can be used as cleaning products for the household like sinks, scrubbing tiles, and hard-clean surfaces. Extracting luffa sponges from the luffa gourd plant is procedural and involves a series of processes. After the plant has grown and the flowers grow long, the gourds are harvested from the plant and left to dry for some months, say six. After the gourds dry, they are soaked in water, peeled, and the seeds are removed (Watson, 2019). Additionally, when they are dry and clean, they can be slid or shaped or cut and sold as sponges. 

           The sponges’ primary use is recreational and for household purposes where they are used for bathing, as body scrubbers, general hard-cleaning, making crafts, and for filtering. The luffa gourd plant has several commercial fields with the increasing imports of luffa sponges into the United States. Currently, the luffa sponges importing countries include El Salvador, Columbia, Venezuela, Taiwan, Guatemala, and China (Davis, 2018). The Missouri and North Carolina 1990s studies also revealed that commercial production of luffa sponge gourds is practical in the United States. The increased demand for the luffa products shows an increase in price ranging between 0.10 to 0.40 dollars per sponge in the Southeastern United States like Florida and North Carolina (Davis, 2018). 

           The primary substitutes for the luffa sponges are silicon-exfoliating brush being long lasting. Besides, washcloth and antibacterial shower mitt mark the other alternatives for the luffa products. The fascinating thing about my product is that I thought that all-natural sponges come from the sea animals except for the commercial sponges. However, I now comprehend that plants play a critical role in various aspects of human life. 

References

Davis, J. (2018). Commercial luffa sponge gourd production. NC State Extension Publications | Browse Popular Publications. 

https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/commercial-luffa-sponge-gourd-production

Watson, K. (2019). Loofah sponge: What to know about using it to clean and exfoliate. Healthline. 

https://www.healthline.com/health/loofah-sponge