FNPS Plant Database

Gossypium hirsutum

wild cotton
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS

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:

It is not legal to plant this plant, but the reasons are very dated. A Florida law was passed in the early 1900s banning the growing of wild cottons, which can attract boll weevils. The intent was to protect commercial cotton farming. Methods of agricultural protection are more advanced today, and the native Florida cotton does not grow in the parts of the state where cottons are grown commercially. However, the law is still on the books.

Availability:

Native Nurseries, FNPS Plant Sales, Seed

Propagation:

Can be grown from seed.

Light:

Full Sun

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

USDA zones are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.

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Vouchered In:

Distribution
Vouchered
Not vouchered
Selected
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No county distribution is available for this plant yet.
Starting…
Map coded by Melissa Fernandez-de Cespedes (Paynes Prairie Chapter)

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

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

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

Citations:

Kale, Pravin J. (2013). Potential pollinators of Gossypium hirsutum L.. ( https://www.ijsr.net/archive/v5i2/NOV161450.pdf ). Accessed 2026. International Journal of Science and Research, 5, 1323-1328.


Osorio, Rufino. (2001). A Gardener's Guide to Florida's Native Plants. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.


Wunderlin, R. P, B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. (1999+). Atlas of Florida Plants. ( https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/ ). [S. M. Landry and K. N. Campbell (application development), USF Water Institute.] Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

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