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Mexican Cotton

Gossypium hirsutum (gu-SIP-ee-um her-SOO-tum)

Family: Malvaceae Native Herbaceous

Upland Cotton is the most commonly planted agricultural cotton and provides 90% of the world's needs. Cotton-seed oil is obtained from the seeds and used in various cooking products as margarine and cooking oils. Upland Cotton is an annual to perennial subshrub in the mallow family and can be variable in the way it grows. It usually reaches around 5 feet tall with two kinds of branches, with the fruiting branches producing the flowers and fruits. The large yellow or white cup-shaped flowers appear in July and are followed by the cotton boll which contains the fibers and seeds. It can tolerate a range of well-drained soils including moderate salt levels. It is grown in full sun and generally cultivated as an annual.

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 45 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 4 - Herbaceous Optimal soil pH Neutral (6.0-8.0)
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.

No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.

Also noted by NC State

Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Annual; Perennial
Life cycle
Perennial
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist | Occasionally Dry
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
High
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Multi-stemmed
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Cordate
Leaf margin
Lobed
Leaf size
3-6 inches long, 3-6 inches wide
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
Green leaves are cordate and alternate with 3-5 lobes and 3-6 inches long and wide.
Flower color
Gold/Yellow; White
Flower value
Showy
Flower form
Head
Flower shape
Cup
Flower size
1-3 inches
Flower detail
6-8 large white or yellow cup-shaped flowers with 5 petals on fertile branches.
Bloom time
Summer
Fruit color
Brown/Copper; Green
Fruit type
Capsule
Fruit size
1-3 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Fruit detail
1.5-2.5 inch round light green capsule that matures to brown. Around 36 seeds inside with both long and short fibers. It is called a cotton boll.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
North America, South America
Distribution
AL , FL , HI , IL , LA , MA , MD , MO , MS , NC , NJ , PA , SC , TX , VA
Food & Medicine
Edible parts
Seeds
Fruit type
Capsule

Edibility

The seeds can be eaten only if cooked

Uses (ethnobotany)

The plant has been used in herbal medicine

Landscape Use
Garden tags
#showy flowers #yellow flowers #white flowers #shrub #salt tolerant #full sun tolerant #annual #perennial #summer flowers #fiber plant

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.