Why is luffah also called a vegetable sponge?

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A pile of freshly harvested pumpkins and gourds in various shapes, with striped patterns in shades of yellow, orange, and green. — Cucurbitales Pumpkins and gourds, order Cucurbitales.

The luffah, a genus of annual climbing vines within the Cucurbitaceae family, is commonly referred to as a vegetable sponge because of its unique internal structure. When the fruit matures, it develops a complex network of closely netted vascular bundles throughout its interior.1

Once the fruit's outer skin, pulp, and seeds are removed, this fibrous, spongelike skeleton remains. Because of this texture, the dried fruit is widely used for domestic purposes, such as bathing and washing dishes, as well as for industrial filtration.1