Gossypium herbaceum L.
G. arboreum, sensu Tackh. G. albescens Raf., G. album Buch.-Ham.
Eng.: Levant cotton. Spa.: Algodonero. Fre.: Cotonnier. Ara.: Qutn esh sharq. Tamahaq: Âebdêga, aebdege.
Perennial plant, with stems slightly lignified at the base, 1.5-3 m in height, pubescent, covered with mainly stellate and scattered simple hairs. Stems highly branched, mainly from the base. Leaf blade 3-8 cm, orbicular, cordate, (3)5(7)-lobed; lobes generally ovate, acute apex. Leaf pubescent-stellate and with more simple hairs on the underside than on the upper side; underside scattered with glands; petiole 2-5.5 cm, pubescent-stellate, with long scattered simple hairs. Stipule 0.8-1 × 0.15 cm, linear-lanceolate, acuminate, pubescent-stellate, caducous. Flowers 2.5-3.5 cm in diameter, solitary, axillary; pedicel 1.5-3 cm. Epicalyx with 3 segments, 2.5-3 × 2 cm fused at the base, cordate, deeply dentate margin, especially at the apex, pubescent. Calyx 0.8-1 cm, campanulate, smoothly dentate, with black glands. Petals c. 4 × 3 cm, obovate, yellow, with purple centre. Capsule 2.5-3 cm, subglobose, acuminate, dark brown; valves with deep rounded cavities, exposing the cotton fibres at dehiscence. Seeds 6-8 × 3-5 mm, ovoid, with long white hair.
Flowering:
January to May.
Fruiting:
June to September.
Habitat:
Grasslands and thickets, plains near crops. Cultivated for cotton fibres in many regions of Africa and Asia, not known in its natural state, but probably native to southern Africa.
Distribution:
Originally from the S of tropical Africa (Botswana, South Africa, Namibia). In North Africa it seems to be present in several countries of the Sahel, reaching Egypt to the N.
Observations:
According to the inhabitants of the Egyptian oases of Siwa and Bahariya (in Boulos, 2000), the plants that grow in the region are part of the natural vegetation and can reach a height of 3 m. However, the possibility of these plants coming from ancient cultivated forms cannot be ruled out.
Conservation status:
Fairly rare species but widely distributed. Currently, it has not been assessed at a global level in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In the Red List of vascular plants of Egypt (Flora Aegyptiaca Vol 1, 2000) it is listed as “Endangered”.