Short-staple cotton
Gossypium herbaceum

Family: Malvaceae

What it is like

A shrub. It grows 2 m high. The leaf stalk is 2.5-8 cm long. The leaf blade is divided into 5 lobes like the fingers on a hand. The leaves are 5-10 cm across. The lobes are broad and oval and half the length of the leaf. The flowers occur singly in the axils of the leaves. The flowers are yellow and red or purple at the centre. The fruit is a capsule with 3-4 valves. It is about 3 cm across. The seeds are about 1 cm across. They are white and woolly.

A diploid plant. There are 40 Gossypium species. They grow in the tropics and subtropics. It has anticancer properties.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It is cultivated in China. It needs a temperature above 13-18°C. In Sichuan and Yunnan.

Countries/locations it is found in

Afghanistan, Africa, Albania, Andaman Is., Angola, Asia, Australia, Bangladesh, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canary Is., Chad, Central Asia, China, Crete, Dominican Republic, East Africa, Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Greece, Guinea, Haiti, India, Indochina, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Maldives, Mauritania, Mediterranean, Middle East, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, North America, Northeastern India, Oman, Pakistan, Romania, SE Asia, Senegal, Sicily, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, Spain, St Helena, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Togo, Turkmenistan, USA, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, West Indies, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

The seeds yield a cotton oil used for salads. It is also used in cooking. The seed is roasted and used as a coffee substitute. The leaves are eaten.

It is cultivated.

Edible parts

Seeds, leaves, oil

How it is grown

Plants are grown from seed.

Its other names

Local names

Arabian cotton, Cao mian, Khun, Levant cotton, Maltese cotton, Wah

Synonyms

Gossypium transvaalense G. Watt; Gossypium obtusifolium Roxb. in part; Gossypium wightianum Tod.;