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The cotton plant, of the genus Gossypium in the mallow family Malvaceae, is a shrub. Its petals appear light yellow or white when open.

Gossypium hirsutum, also known as upland cotton or Mexican cotton, is the most widely planted species of cotton in the world. Globally, about 90% of all cotton production comes from cultivars derived from this species. It is native from Mexico to Ecuador and northeast Brazil. The original native range of Gossypium hirsutum centers on the Yucatán Peninsula, where researchers have found the greatest genetic diversity among wild samples.

Flower development

A flower bud, called a square, forms at every node on the fruiting branches of the cotton plant, and the buds lowest on the plant develop first. The first square appears 35 to 45 days after the plant begins to grow, and the mature flower needs 25 days to develop fully.

Species and fiber

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a protective boll around the seeds, and the fiber is almost pure cellulose. Four species are grown commercially: upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), the extra-long staple Gossypium barbadense from tropical South America, tree cotton (Gossypium arboreum) from India and Pakistan, and Levant cotton (Gossypium herbaceum).

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