Malvaceae

Cotton

Gossypium barbadense L.

Family: Malvaceae
Genus: Gossypium

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Cotton (Gossypium barbadense) — Photo: Barry Stewart, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist

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Common names

By language (18)

Arabic: قطن مصري, القطن المصري, قطن
arz: قطن مصرى
Bambara: Kɔɔriba
Catalan: Cotoner Pima
Chinese: 海岛棉, 光籽棉, 大头茶, 木棉, 棉花, 棉花壳, 棉花子, 棉花根
Czech: Bavlník barbadoský
Danish: Barbados-Bomuld
Dutch: Amerikaanse katoen, Alabamakatoen, Barbadoskatoen
English: Cotton, Creole cotton, Extra-long staple cotton, Long staple cotton, Pima cotton, Sea Island cotton, Tangüis cotton
Haitian Creole: Pye koton
Korean: 해도면
lah: امریکی کپآ
Macedonian: Барбадоски памук
Persian: پنبه درختچهای
smn: Viestârindiapumbul
Spanish: Algodón, Algodon Pima, Algodón criollo, Algodón de fibra larga, Algodón país, Algodón Pima, Algodón Tangüis
Swedish: Västindisk bomull, Pima cotton
Uzbek: Janubiy amerika gʻoʻzasi, Janubiy amerika g'o'zasi, Janubiy amerika g`o`zasi, Janubiy amerika g‘o‘zasi, Peru gʻoʻzasi

Synonyms

Gossypium acuminatum Roxb. & G.Don
Gossypium arboreum subsp. perenne (Blanco) Mauer
Gossypium auritum O.F.Cook & J.W.Hubb.
Gossypium barbadense f. casimiranum Roberty
Gossypium barbadense f. eggersii Roberty
Gossypium barbadense f. maritimum (Tod.) Roberty
Gossypium barbadense f. suffruticosum (Bertol.) Roberty
Gossypium barbadense f. vitifolium (Lam.) Roberty
Gossypium barbadense subsp. microcarpum (Tod.) Roberty
Gossypium barbadense subsp. peruvianum (Cav.) Roberty
Gossypium barbadense subsp. racemosum (Poir.) Roberty
Gossypium barbadense subsp. sprucei (Roberty) Roberty
Gossypium barbadense subsp. typicum Roberty
Gossypium barbadense subsp. vitifolium (Lam.) Roberty
Gossypium barbadense var. acuminatum (Roxb. ex G.Don) Triana & Planch.
Gossypium barbadense var. apospermum (Sprague) Roberty
Gossypium barbadense var. barbadense
Gossypium barbadense var. brasiliense (Macfad.) Mauer
Gossypium barbadense var. braziliense (Raf.) Fryxell
Gossypium barbadense var. caravonicum (Roberty) Roberty
Gossypium barbadense var. cayanense Roberty
Gossypium barbadense var. eubarbadense Roberty
Gossypium barbadense var. integrum Griseb.
Gossypium barbadense var. maritimum (Tod.) G.Watt
Gossypium barbadense var. microcarpum (Tod.) Roberty
Gossypium barbadense var. pedatum (G.Watt) Roberty
Gossypium barbadense var. peruvianum (Cav.) Mauer
Gossypium barbadense var. rufum Wittm.
Gossypium barbadense var. vitifolium (Lam.) Triana & Planch.
Gossypium brasiliense Macfad.
Gossypium brasiliense var. apospermum Sprague
Gossypium calycotum O.F.Cook & J.W.Hubb.
Gossypium cambayense Raf.
Gossypium evertum O.F.Cook & J.W.Hubb.
Gossypium frutescens Lasteyr.
Gossypium frutescens var. maritimum (Tod.) Prokh.
Gossypium fruticulosum Tod.
Gossypium fuscum Roxb. ex Wight & Arn.
Gossypium glabrum Lam.
Gossypium guyanense Raf.

and 65 more.

Flowers

In flower: April to May, December (from 12 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)

Characteristics

Growth habit: Shrub, Subshrub, Tree
Lifespan: Annual, Perennial
In the US and Canada: Hawaii: introduced, Pacific Basin: introduced, Puerto Rico: introduced, U.S. Virgin Islands: introduced

Photos

Photo: Barry Stewart, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Enrico Tomschke, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Yercaud-elango, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Aira Francisca Faúndez Fallau, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Yercaud-elango, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Dieter Schulten, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Yercaud-elango, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: John G. Phillips, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: TropoPiegas, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Addie, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: capacoscar, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist

More in Gossypium

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.