Gossypium hirsutum
Selected images: Click on each image to see a larger version and details of the record View all images (6)
Photo: Bart Wursten
Lower slopes of Mt Gorongosa, Mozambique
Photo: Bart Wursten
Lower slopes of Mt Gorongosa, Mozambique
Photo: Bart Wursten
Lower slopes of Mt Gorongosa, Mozambique
Photo: Bart Wursten
Lower slopes of Mt Gorongosa, Mozambique
Photo: Bart Wursten
Lower slopes of Mt Gorongosa, Mozambique
Photo: Bart Wursten
Lower slopes of Mt Gorongosa, Mozambique
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Species details: Click on each item to see an explanation of that item (Note: opens a new window)
| Synonyms: | |
| Common names: | Cotton (English) Mudonje (Shona) Mushinda (Shona) Utshinda (Ndebele) |
| Frequency: | |
| Status: | Cultivated and sometimes naturalised |
| Description: |
Annual or short-lived perennial shrublet up to 1.5m tall. Leaves almost round in outline, 3-5-lobed to about halfway. Flowers in 1-several flowered clusters, cream to pale yellow, fading pink, with or without dark centre. Epicalyx of 3 large leaf-like bracts. Fruit a round capsule 2-4 cm in diameter, splitting to release the seeds covered in dense white cotton wool. |
| Type location: |
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| Notes: | Note: commonly cultivated in Zimbabwe and occasionally escaping. |
| Derivation of specific name: | hirsutum: covered with long, moderately stiff and not interwoven hairs; hirsute |
| Habitat: | |
| Altitude range: (metres) | |
| Flowering time: | Feb - May |
| Worldwide distribution: | Native to Central America |
| FZ divisions: | N,C |
| Growth form(s): | |
| Endemic status: | |
| Red data list status: | |
| Insects associated with this species: | Utetheisa pulchella (Food plant) Egybolis vaillantina (Food plant) |
| Spot characters: | Display spot characters for this species |
| Images last updated: | Sunday 31 January 2010 |
| Literature: |
Mapaura, A. & Timberlake, J. (eds) (2004). A checklist of Zimbabwean vascular plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 33 Sabonet, Pretoria and Harare Page 60. |
Other sources of information about Gossypium hirsutum:
Our websites:
Flora of Mozambique: Gossypium hirsutumFlora of Mozambique: cultivated Gossypium hirsutum
Flora of Zimbabwe: cultivated Gossypium hirsutum
External websites:
African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Gossypium hirsutumAfrican Plant Database: Gossypium hirsutum
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Gossypium hirsutum
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Gossypium hirsutum
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Gossypium hirsutum
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Gossypium hirsutum
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Gossypium hirsutum
JSTOR Plant Science: Gossypium hirsutum
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Gossypium hirsutum
Plants of the World Online: Gossypium hirsutum
Tropicos: Gossypium hirsutum
Wikipedia: Gossypium hirsutum