Gossypium
(the Latin name used by Pliny). Cotton Plant. ORD. Malvaceae. A small genus (comprising three species) of stove perennial herbs or shrubs. Flowers yellow or purple, usually large and showy; calyx truncate or shortly five-fid. Fruit a three or five-celled capsule, bursting when ripe, and exposing the numerous seeds covered with down. Leaves three to nine-lobed, or rarely entire. Gossypiums thrive in a light rich soil. Propagated by seeds, sown in moist heat, in spring. The seedlings, When large enough to handle, should be planted singly in small pots, and transferred to larger ones as required. This genus is one of the most important of the whole vegetable kingdom, yielding, as it does, the well-known cotton of commerce.
G. Bahma(Bahma). This differs from other Cottons in its larger size, and its erect, almost unbranched habit. More cotton, too, is produced by it. Originated in Egypt, several years ago; said to be a hybrid between Egyptian Cotton and Hibiscus esculentus. (G. C. n. s., vii. 561.)
G. barbadense (Barbadoes). fl. yellow, with a purple spot at the base of each petal, finally turning reddish, large. September. l., upper ones three-lobed; lower ones five-lobed. Stem smooth. h. 5ft. Barbadoes, 1759. (B. R. i. 84.)
G. herbaceum (herbaceous). fl. yellow, with a purple spot on the claw of each petal. July. l. five-lobed; lobes rounded, mucronate. h. 3ft. to 4ft. East Indies, 1594.