Taxon:  Gossypium herbaceum L.



Summary
Genus:
Gossypium
Subgenus:
Gossypium
Section:
Gossypium
Subsection:
Gossypium
Family:
Malvaceae
Subfamily:
Malvoideae
Tribe:
Gossypieae
Nomen number:
17915
Place of publication:
Sp. pl. 2:693.  1753
Verified:
08/10/1999 ARS Systematic Botanists.
Accessions:
347 (185  active, 163  available) in National Plant Germplasm System.  (Map it)
Other conspecific taxa
Gossypium herbaceum L. var. africanum (G. Watt) J. B. Hutch. ex S. C. Harland (0 active accession[s])
Gossypium herbaceum L. var. herbaceum (0 active accession[s])
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Gossypium transvaalense G. Watt

Images (1 total. Click on image for more.)
Seed

Conservation Status

Reference(s)
  1. Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
  2. Ali, S. I. & S. M. H. Jafri, eds. 1976-. Flora of Libya.
  3. APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
  4. Arnold, T. H. & B. C. De Wet, eds. 1993. Plants of southern Africa: names and distribution. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa no. 62
  5. Beasley, J. O. 1940. The production of polyploids in Gossypium. J. Heredity 31:39-48. Note: it reported synthetic hexaploids from crosses between Gossypium hirsutum × G. herbaceum and G. barbadense × G. herbaceum resulted in viable hybrids but of different pollen fertility
  6. Brink, M. & R. P. Escobin, eds. 2003. Fibre plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 17:139-150.
  7. Campbell, B. T. et al. 2010. Status of the global cotton germplasm resources. Crop Sci. (Madison) 50:1161-1179. Note: it recognized Gossypium herbaceum as an A-genome species, and part of the secondary gene pool of cotton
  8. Cotton Crop Germplasm Committee. 2005. Cotton germplasm status report and crop vulnerability status 18.
  9. Cotton Division AMS. 1980. The classification of cotton. U.S.D.A. Agric. Handb. 556:1.
  10. Cufodontis, G. 1953-1972. Enumeratio plantarum aethiopiae: Spermatophyta.
  11. Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
  12. Erhardt, W. et al. 2008. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen 1442.
  13. Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
  14. Facciola, S. 1990. Cornucopia, a source book of edible plants Kampong Publications.
  15. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
  16. Fryxell, P. A. 1976. A nomenclator of Gossypium. The botanical names of cotton. Techn. Bull. U.S.D.A. 1491:38.
  17. Fryxell, P. A. 1979. The natural history of the cotton tribe 64.
  18. Fryxell, P. A. 1992. A revised taxonomic interpretation of Gossypium L. (Malvaceae). Rheedea 2:147.
  19. Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
  20. Liu, Q. et al. 2015. A new synthetic allotetraploid (A1A1G2G2) between Gossypium herbaceum and G. australe: Bridging for simultanously transferring favorable genes from these two diploid species into Upland cotton. PLoS One 10(4): e0123209.
  21. Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
  22. McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
  23. Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
  24. Paul, T. K. & M. P. Nayar. 1988. Malvaceae. In: Botanical Survey of India, Fascicles of flora of India. 19:115.
  25. Personal Care Products Council. International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient
  26. Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
  27. Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
  28. Renny-Byfield, S. et al. 2016. Independent domestication of two Old World cotton species. Genome Biol Evol 8:1940-1947.
  29. Shim, J. et al. 2018. Natural variation in wild Gossypium species as a tool to broaden the genetic base of cultivated cotton. J. Pl. Sci. Curr. Research 2:005. DOI: 10.24966/PSCR-3743/100005.
  30. Townsend, C. C. & E. Guest. 1966-. Flora of Iraq.
  31. Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
  32. Ullah, R. et al. 2018. Analysis of the resistance of Gossypium herbaceum to cotton leaf curl kokhran virus strain burewala and cotton leaf curl multan betasatellite. J. Pl. Pathol. 100:313-316.
  33. Uphof, J. C. T. 1968. Dictionary of economic plants, ed. 2.
  34. Walker, E. 1976. Flora of Okinawa and the southern Ryukyu Islands.
  35. Wendel, J. F. & V. A. Albert. 1992. Phylogenetics of the cotton genus (Gossypium): character state weighted parsimony analysis of chloroplast-DNA restriction site data and its systematic and biogeographic implications. Syst. Bot. 17:115-143. www.aspt.net/systematic-botany
  36. Wendel, J. F. et al. 2009. Evolution and natural history of the cotton genus. In: Paterson, A. H., ed., Genetics and genomics of cotton 3-22.
  37. Westengen, O. T. et al. 2005. Genetic diversity and geographic pattern in early South American cotton domestication. Theor. Appl. Genet. 110:392-402. Note: it was included "to compare the diploid and the derived polyploid cottons"
  38. Wiggins, I. L. 1980. Flora of Baja California.
  39. Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
  40. Wu, Y. et al. 2017. A new synthetic hybrid (A1D5) between Gossypium herbaceum and G. raimondii and its morphological, cytogenetic, molecular characterization. PLoS One 12(2): e0169833. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0169833.
Common names
LanguageNameAlternate namenoteseqCitation
EnglishArabian cotton  1Uphof, J. C. T. 1968. Dictionary of economic plants, ed. 2.
EnglishLevant cotton  1Paul, T. K. & M. P. Nayar. 1988. Malvaceae. In: Botanical Survey of India, Fascicles of flora of India. 19:115.
EnglishMaltese cotton  1Uphof, J. C. T. 1968. Dictionary of economic plants, ed. 2.
Englishshort-staple cotton  1Cotton Division AMS. 1980. The classification of cotton. U.S.D.A. Agric. Handb. 556:1.
EnglishSyrian cotton  1Uphof, J. C. T. 1968. Dictionary of economic plants, ed. 2.
Frenchcotonnier d'Asie  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Frenchcotonnier herbacé  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Germangewöhnliche Baumwolle  2Erhardt, W. et al. 2008. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen 1442.
Germankrautiger Baumwollstrauch  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Japanese Rōmajishiro-bana-wata  2Walker, E. 1976. Flora of Okinawa and the southern Ryukyu Islands.
Portuguesealgodoeiro-asiático  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanishalgodonero  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanishalgodonero herbáceo  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Swedishindisk bomull  2Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
Transcribed Chinesecao mian  2Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
Distribution
order_codeStatusContinentSubcontinentCountryStateNoteReference
1NativeAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaMozambique  Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1NativeAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaZimbabwe  Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaBotswana  Arnold, T. H. & B. C. De Wet, eds. 1993. Plants of southern Africa: names and distribution. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa no. 62
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaEswatini  Arnold, T. H. & B. C. De Wet, eds. 1993. Plants of southern Africa: names and distribution. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa no. 62
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaNamibia  Arnold, T. H. & B. C. De Wet, eds. 1993. Plants of southern Africa: names and distribution. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa no. 62
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth AfricaKwaZulu-Natal Arnold, T. H. & B. C. De Wet, eds. 1993. Plants of southern Africa: names and distribution. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa no. 62
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth AfricaTransvaal Arnold, T. H. & B. C. De Wet, eds. 1993. Plants of southern Africa: names and distribution. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa no. 62
2CultivatedAfrica Africa  Brink, M. & R. P. Escobin, eds. 2003. Fibre plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 17:139-150.
2CultivatedAsia-TemperateChinaChina w.Brink, M. & R. P. Escobin, eds. 2003. Fibre plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 17:139-150.
2CultivatedAsia-TemperateMiddle AsiaTajikistan  Brink, M. & R. P. Escobin, eds. 2003. Fibre plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 17:139-150.
2CultivatedAsia-TemperateMiddle AsiaTurkmenistan  Brink, M. & R. P. Escobin, eds. 2003. Fibre plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 17:139-150.
2CultivatedAsia-TemperateMiddle AsiaUzbekistan  Brink, M. & R. P. Escobin, eds. 2003. Fibre plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 17:139-150.
2CultivatedAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaAfghanistan  Brink, M. & R. P. Escobin, eds. 2003. Fibre plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 17:139-150.
2CultivatedAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentIndia  Brink, M. & R. P. Escobin, eds. 2003. Fibre plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 17:139-150.
Native
Africa
  • SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Mozambique, Zimbabwe
  • SOUTHERN AFRICA: Botswana, Namibia, Eswatini, South Africa [KwaZulu-Natal, Transvaal]
Cultivated
Africa
  • REGION: Africa
Asia-Temperate
  • WESTERN ASIA: Afghanistan
  • MIDDLE ASIA: Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
  • CHINA: China (w.)
Asia-Tropical
  • INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India

Reference(s)
  1. Arnold, T. H. & B. C. De Wet, eds. 1993. Plants of southern Africa: names and distribution. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa no. 62
  2. Brink, M. & R. P. Escobin, eds. 2003. Fibre plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 17:139-150.
  3. Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
Economic Uses
UsageTypeNoteReference
Animal foodfodder Mabberley, D. J. 1997. The plant-book: a portable dictionary of the vascular plants, ed. 2
Animal foodfodderseed cakesUphof, J. C. T. 1968. Dictionary of economic plants, ed. 2.
Human foodoil/fatfrom seedsFacciola, S. 1990. Cornucopia, a source book of edible plants Kampong Publications.
Materialsfiber Fryxell, P. A. 1979. The natural history of the cotton tribe 64.
Medicinesfolklore Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
Medicinesfolklore McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Vertebrate poisonsmammals Kellerman, T. S. et al. 1988. Plant poisonings and mycotoxicoses of livestock in Southern Africa
Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=17915. Accessed 10 May 2026.