- Family:
- Malvaceae Juss.
- Genus:
- Gossypium L.
Gossypium arboreum L.

[FTEA]
Malvaceae, Bernard Verdcourt & Geoffrey Mwachala. Pavonia, B Verdcourt; Kosteletzkya, OJ Blanchard Jr.; Gossypium, P Fryxell & B Verdcourt. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 2009
- Type
- Type: “India”, Linn. Herb. 874.3 (LINN!, holo.)
- Morphology General Habit
- Shrubs or subshrubs up to 2 m tall, highly variable in morphology and pubescence.
- Morphology Stem
- Stems usually puberulent to pubescent, the young stems punctate
- Morphology Leaves
- Leaves petiolate, moderately to deeply palmately 3–7-lobed, 2–5 × 2–4.5 cm, pedately 7–9-veined, sometimes with small accessory lobes in the sinuses; lobes broadly ovate to narrowly lanceolate and ± constricted basally, entire, acute or acuminate (sometimes obtuse), the foliar nectary inconspicuous or absent; petiole punctate; stipules 5–15 mm long, linear to falcate, caducous
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
- Flowers borne on sympodial inflorescences (sometimes solitary); pedicel 10–60 mm long, the epicalyx nectaries commonly absent; bracts of the epicalyx broadly ovate, 15–35 mm long, almost as wide, ± connate basally forming a cup, entire or 3–7-laciniate, pubescent externally, glabrous internally; a trio of nectaries sometimes present within the epicalyx at the juncture of epicalyx and calyx alternate with the bracts; calyx 7–12 mm long, glabrous, prominently punctate, truncate to distinctly 5-lobed
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
- Petals usually yellow with a purplish basal spot, sometimes white or flushed purplish or with basal spot absent, 25–45 mm long, minutely punctate, ciliate on claw, pubescent externally where exposed in bud, glabrous internally.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
- Staminal column glabrous, pallid, usually punctate, 1/2 the length of petals or less, the filaments 2–4 mm long.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style
- Style only slightly exceeding androecium
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
- Capsule ovoid to elongate, usually 3-locular, usually beaked, glabrous, punctate, the glands sunken, flaring widely at maturity.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
- Seeds bearing white or tan fibers.
- Ecology
- Secondary bushland; 3–?1000 m
- Distribution
- Flora districts: U1 T6 Range: Not certainly known from the wild; cultivated principally in southern Asia, sometimes elsewhere, occasionally escaped
[UNAL]
Bernal, R., G. Galeano, A. Rodríguez, H. Sarmiento y M. Gutiérrez. 2017. Nombres Comunes de las Plantas de Colombia. http://www.biovirtual.unal.edu.co/nombrescomunes/
- Vernacular
- algodón, algodón pajarito, algodonero, algodonero pajarito
[FWTA]
Malvaceae, Hutchinson and Dalziel. Flora of West Tropical Africa 1:2. 1958
- Morphology General Habit
- Perennial shrubs, or annual subshrubs
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
- Flowers red or purple, or yellow.
[FSOM]
M. Thulin et al. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1-4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS
- Morphology General Habit
- Shrub up to 3 m tall; branches sometimes straggling, young parts pubescent with short hairs and sometimes some long simple hairs
- Morphology Leaves
- Leaves 3–5-lobed; lobes ovate, constricted at the base
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Epicalyx
- Epicalyx bracts ovate, entire or with 1–3 teeth on each side, with rounded sinuses
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
- Capsule gradually tapering to the apex, densely pitted with conspicuous glands, opening widely and easily releasing the seeds
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
- Seeds with long white hairs (lint) overlying shorter ones, difficult to separate seed from lint.
- Distribution
- Previously cultivated in S2 (“Wabi Shebelli”) and S3 (“Juba”) earlier widely cultivated in the Old World tropics, but now more rarely.
[UPFC]
- Ecology
- Habitat according IUCN Habitats Classification: forest and woodland, savanna, shrubland, wetlands (inland), artificial - terrestrial.
- Vernacular
- Algodón
[UPFC]
- Use Animal Food
- Used as animal food.
- Use Environmental
- Environmental uses.
- Use Gene Sources
- Used as gene sources.
- Use Food
- Used for food.
- Use Invertebrate Food
- Used as invertebrate food.
- Use Materials
- Used as material.
- Use Medicines
- Medical uses.
- Use Poisons
- Poisons.
Native to:
India, Sri Lanka
Introduced into:
Angola, Assam, Bangladesh, Benin, Chad, China South-Central, China Southeast, Cuba, East Himalaya, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Leeward Is., Mali, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, St.Helena, Sudan, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad-Tobago, Uganda, Vietnam, Yemen
- Gossypium albiflorum Tod.
- Gossypium anomalum G.Watt
- Gossypium arboreum var. wightianum (Tod.) M.R.Almeida
- Gossypium asiaticum Raf.
- Gossypium bani (G.Watt) Prokh.
- Gossypium cernuum Tod.
- Gossypium comesii Sprenger
- Gossypium figarei Tod.
- Gossypium glabratum Tod.
- Gossypium gracile Salisb.
- Gossypium herbaceum var. wightianum (Tod.) T.Cooke
- Gossypium indicum Lam.
- Gossypium intermedium Tod.
- Gossypium macranthum Tod.
- Gossypium nanking Meyen
- Gossypium neglectum Tod.
- Gossypium obtusifolium Roxb. ex G.Don
- Gossypium obtusifolium var. wightiana G.Watt
- Gossypium perennans Delile ex Roberty
- Gossypium puniceum Fenzl
- Gossypium roseum Tod.
- Gossypium roxburghii Tod.
- Gossypium royleanum Tod.
- Gossypium rubicundum Roxb. ex Wight & Arn.
- Gossypium rubrum Forssk.
- Gossypium sanguineum Hassk.
- Gossypium soudanense (G.Watt) G.Watt
- Gossypium vaupelii J.Graham
- Gossypium wattianum S.Y.Hu
- Gossypium wightianum Tod.
- Hibiscus albiflorus Kuntze
- Hibiscus cernuus (Tod.) Kuntze
- Hibiscus nangking Kuntze
- Xylon indicum (Lam.) Medik.
Gossypium arboreum L. appears in other Kew resources:
Date | Reference | Identified As | Barcode | Type Status | Has image? |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kirk [s.n.], Mozambique | K000240849 | Yes | |||
[Unknown] [8887] | K000240850 | Unknown type material | Yes | ||
s.coll. [Cat. no. 1881] | K001114545 | Yes | |||
Clarke, T. [s.n.], Brazil | K001220074 | Yes | |||
s.coll. [Cat. no. 1881] | K001114544 | Yes | |||
Jun 1, 2008 | Jones [131], Sabah | Gossypium obtusifolium | K000224932 | No |
First published in Sp. Pl.: 693 (1753)
Accepted by
- Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & Strong, M.T. (2012). Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98: 1-1192.
- Akoègninou, A., van der Burg, W.J. & van der Maesen, L.J.G. (eds.) (2006). Flore Analytique du Bénin: 1-1034. Backhuys Publishers.
- Balkrishna, A. (2018). Flora of Morni Hills (Research & Possibilities): 1-581. Divya Yoga Mandir Trust.
- Barooah, C. & Ahmed, I. (2014). Plant diversity of Assam. A checklist of Angiosperms and Gymnosperms: 1-599. Assam science technology and environment council, India.
- Boudet, G., Lebrun, J.P. & Demange, R. (1986). Catalogue des plantes vasculaires du Mali: 1-465. Etudes d'Elevage et de Médecine Vétérinaire des Pays Tropicaux.
- Chang, C.S., Kim, H. & Chang, K.S. (2014). Provisional checklist of vascular plants for the Korea peninsula flora (KPF): 1-660. DESIGNPOST.
- Chayamarit, K. & Balslev, H. (eds.) (2019). Flora of Thailand 14(2): 185-358. The Forest Herbarium, Royal Forest Department.
- Darbyshire, I., Kordofani, M., Farag, I., Candiga, R. & Pickering, H. (eds.) (2015). The Plants of Sudan and South Sudan: 1-400. Kew publishing, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
- Edwards, S., Tadesse, M. & Hedberg, I. (eds.) (1995). Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea 2(2): 1-456. The National Herbarium, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia & The Department of Systematic Botany, Upps.
- Figueiredo, E. & Smith, G.F. (2008). Plants of Angola Strelitzia 22: 1-279. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
- Govaerts, R. (2003). World Checklist of Seed Plants Database in ACCESS G: 1-40325.
- Grierson, A.J.C. & Long, D.G. (2001). Flora of Bhutan 2: 1-1675. Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh.
- Hutchinson, J., Dalziel, J.M. & Keay, R.W.J. (1954-1958). Flora of West Tropical Africa, ed. 2, 1: 1-828.
- Lê, T.C. (2003). Danh l?c các loài th?c v?t Vi?t Nam 2: 1-1203. Hà N?i : Nhà xu?t b?n Nông nghi?p.
- Meena, S.L. (2012). A checklist of the vascular plants of Banaskantha district, Gujarat, India Nelumbo 54: 39-91.
- Thulin, M. (ed.) in Thulin, M. (ed.) (1999). Flora of Somalia 2: 1-303. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
- Tutin, T.G. & al. (eds.) (1968). Flora Europaea 2: 1-469. Cambridge University Press.
- Verdcourt, B. & Mwachala, G.M. (2009). Flora of Tropical East Africa, Malvaceae: 1-170.
- Wood, J.R.I. (1997). A handbook of the Yemen Flora: 1-434. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
- Wu, Z., Raven, P.H. & Hong, D. (eds.) (2007). Flora of China 12: 1-534. Science Press (Beijing) & Missouri Botanical Garden Press (St. Louis).
- Xuyên, Ð.T. (2017). Th?c V?t Chí Vi?t Nam. Flora of Vietnam 14: 1-314. Nha` xua^´t ba?n khoa ho?c va` ky~ thua^?t, Ha` No?^i.
Literature
Flora of West Tropical Africa
- J. B. Hutch. in J. B. Hutch, et al. Evol. Gossyp. 32, t. 4 (q.v. for syn.; specimens from our area are referred to the race soudanense).
- —F.T.A. 1: 211
Kew Backbone Distributions
- Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & Strong, M.T. (2012). Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98: 1-1192.
- Akoègninou, A., van der Burg, W.J. & van der Maesen, L.J.G. (eds.) (2006). Flore Analytique du Bénin: 1-1034. Backhuys Publishers.
- Barooah, C. & Ahmed, I. (2014). Plant diversity of Assam. A checklist of Angiosperms and Gymnosperms: 1-599. Assam science technology and environment council, India.
- Boudet, G., Lebrun, J.P. & Demange, R. (1986). Catalogue des plantes vasculaires du Mali: 1-465. Etudes d'Elevage et de Médecine Vétérinaire des Pays Tropicaux.
- Brown, L.C. (1982). The Flora and Fauna of St Helena: 1-88. Land Resources Development Centre, Surbiton, England.
- Chang, C.S., Kim, H. & Chang, K.S. (2014). Provisional checklist of vascular plants for the Korea peninsula flora (KPF): 1-660. DESIGNPOST.
- Chayamarit, K. & Balslev, H. (eds.) (2019). Flora of Thailand 14(2): 185-358. The Forest Herbarium, Royal Forest Department.
- Darbyshire, I., Kordofani, M., Farag, I., Candiga, R. & Pickering, H. (eds.) (2015). The Plants of Sudan and South Sudan: 1-400. Kew publishing, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
- Edwards, S., Tadesse, M. & Hedberg, I. (eds.) (1995). Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea 2(2): 1-456. The National Herbarium, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia & The Department of Systematic Botany, Upps.
- Figueiredo, E. & Smith, G.F. (2008). Plants of Angola Strelitzia 22: 1-279. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
- Grierson, A.J.C. & Long, D.G. (2001). Flora of Bhutan 2: 1-1675. Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh.
- Hutchinson, J., Dalziel, J.M. & Keay, R.W.J. (1954-1958). Flora of West Tropical Africa, ed. 2, 1: 1-828.
- Lê, T.C. (2003). Danh l?c các loài th?c v?t Vi?t Nam 2: 1-1203. Hà N?i : Nhà xu?t b?n Nông nghi?p.
- Meena, S.L. (2012). A checklist of the vascular plants of Banaskantha district, Gujarat, India Nelumbo 54: 39-91.
- Quézel, P. (1958). Mission Botanique au Tibesti: 1-357. Université d'Alger.
- Verdcourt, B. & Mwachala, G.M. (2009). Flora of Tropical East Africa, Malvaceae: 1-170.
- Wood, J.R.I. (1997). A handbook of the Yemen Flora: 1-434. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
- Wu, Z., Raven, P.H. & Hong, D. (eds.) (2007). Flora of China 12: 1-534. Science Press (Beijing) & Missouri Botanical Garden Press (St. Louis).
Flora of Somalia
- Flora Somalia, Vol 2, (1999) Author: by M. Thulin [updated by M. Thulin 2008]
Flora of Tropical East Africa
- F.T.A. 1: 211 (1868)
- Fl. Eth. & Eritr. 2 (2): 222 (1995)
- Fryxell, Nat. Hist. Cotton tribe: 62 (1979)
- Keay, F.W.T.A. ed. 2, 1(2): 349 (1958)
- Sp. Pl. 693 (1753)
- Thulin, Fl. Somalia 2: 59 (1999).
- U.O.P.Z.: 278 (1949)
Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia
- Burkill HM. (1995). The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vols. 1-3. The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vols 1-3.
- Dempewolf, H., Eastwood, R. J., Guarino, L., Khoury, C. K., Müller, J. V. & Toll, J. (2014). Adapting agriculture to climate change: a global initiative to collect, conserve, and use crop wild relatives. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 38, 369-377.
- Diazgranados et al. (2021). Catalogue of plants of Colombia. Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia project. In prep.
- Diazgranados, M., Allkin, B., Black N., Cámara-Leret, R., Canteiro C., Carretero J., Eastwood R., Hargreaves S., Hudson A., Milliken W., Nesbitt, M., Ondo, I., Patmore, K., Pironon, S., Turner, R., Ulian, T. (2020). World Checklist of Useful Plant Species. Produced by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Knowledge Network for Biocomplexity.
- FPI (2021). Food Plants International. https://fms.cmsvr.com/fmi/webd/Food_Plants_World?homeurl=https://foodplantsinternational.com/plants/
- GBIF.org (2021). GBIF species matching tool. https://www.gbif.org/tools/species-lookup
- GRIN (2021). Germplasm Resources Information Network from the United States Department of Agriculture. https://www.ars-grin.gov/
- Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humbodlt (2014). Plantas alimenticias y medicinales nativas de Colombia. 2567 registros, aportados por: Castellanos, C. (Contacto del recurso), Valderrama, N. (Creador del recurso, Autor), Bernal, Y. (Autor), García, N. (Autor). http://i2d.humboldt.org.co/ceiba/resource.do?r=ls_colombia_magnoliophyta_2014
- Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt. (2014). Plantas alimenticias y medicinales nativas de Colombia. 2567 registros, aportados por: Castellanos, C. (Contacto del recurso), Valderrama, N. (Creador del recurso, Autor), Bernal, Y. (Autor), García, N. (Autor). http://i2d.humboldt.org.co/ceiba/resource.do?r=ls_colombia_magnoliophyta_2014
- Jansen, P., Lemmens, R., Oyen, L., Siemonsma, J., Stavast, F. & Van Valkenburg, J. (1991) Plant Resources of South-East Asia. Basic list of species and commodity grouping. Final version. Pudoc, Wageningen.
- Medicinal Plant Names Services (MPNS) v.10 (2021); http://mpns.kew.org/
- PROTA (2021). Plants Resources of Tropical Africa. https://prota4u.org/database/
- RBG, Kew (2021). Kew Economic Botany Collection. https://ecbot.science.kew.org/
- RBG, Kew (ed.) (1999). Survey of Economic Plants for Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (SEPASAL) database. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London.
- Willis, K.J. (ed.) (2017). State of the World’s Plants 2017. Report. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
-
Art and Illustrations in Digifolia
Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew
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Flora of Somalia
Flora of Somalia
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
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Flora of Tropical East Africa
Flora of Tropical East Africa
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
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Flora of West Tropical Africa
Flora of West Tropical Africa
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
-
Herbarium Catalogue Specimens
Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
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Kew Backbone Distributions
The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
© Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
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Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone
The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
© Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
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Kew Science Photographs
Copyright applied to individual images
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Universidad Nacional de Colombia
ColPlantA database
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Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0