• Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS

Gossypium hirsutum

wild cotton

Nomenclature

Common Name:

wild cotton

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Gossypium hirsutum

Family:

Malvaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

shrub

Size:

6-8 ft tall by 5-7 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

white

Fruit Color:

white

Phenology:

winter dormant

Noted For:

Showy Flowers, Showy Fruits

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Use as a short-lived "shrub". Dies back with freezing but will re-sprout from the roots. Use as a specimen plant.

Considerations:

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Availability:

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Propagation:

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Light:

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Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded---------------------------------Extremely Dry

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Not wet but not extremely dry -to- Somewhat long very dry periods

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand, Loam

Soil pH:

Suitable to Grow In:

10A,10B,11

Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators, Caterpillars

Larval host plant for gray hairstreak ( Strymon melinus ) butterflies.





Flowers attract bees, flies, thrips, grass hoppers, and beetles, and ants (Kale 2014). 

  

Native Habitats:

Dry sites. Tropical hammock, coastal berm, shell mound. Disturbed area.

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

Wild cotton is a rare plant; it needs protection against missuses and protection against removal from natural populations.