Climbing Okra

[organichris]

I recently had a conversation with a gentleman at my church who grows quite a sizable garden every year. When we were talking about okra, he said that he knew another guy in town who grew what he called "Arkansas Okree". He said it grew on a vine and that the fruits were tender even after they had grown very long. He said that he had received some seeds and they had gotten ruined by moisture and since had not been able to find any. So I told him I would get some for him if I could locate them.

After doing some research, it seems that what he is looking for is Luffa cylindrica. This is the loofah sponge plant. Apparently you can eat the gourds like squash or okra.

Has anyone grown this and eaten the fruit? Or is there another kind of climbing okra I don't know about? I'd like to help out my friend, but I'd like as much input as I can get before I go and buy some seeds for him.

Here's a link to a picture of what I think he's talking about:

http://pics.davesgarden.com/pics/Hor...472208_544.jpg