Scrub a Dub

Ever wonder where they get those bath scrubbers that are sold in health food stores and even in pharmacies...loofah's? Well, a loofah in the wild looks rather like a large zucchini and is usually found hanging from a vine that might bear large yellow flowers earlier in the year. The part of the loofah that is used for scrubbing is a sort of cellular formed fiber that is the inside of the loofah. When they are ripe, they are left on the vine to dry, the skin is peeled, and voilá a loofah. Sometimes they are further refined to fit into glove shapes or the fiber is used to make a fabric. Very pretty flowers.