Malvaceae

Hawai'ian cotton

Gossypium tomentosum Nutt. ex Seem.

Family: Malvaceae
Genus: Gossypium

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Hawai'ian cotton (Gossypium tomentosum) — FlowerPhoto: Sonny Gamponia, CC0, from iNaturalist

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Common names

By language (7)

Arabic: قطن وبري
arz: قطن وبرى
English: Hawai'ian cotton, Hawaiian cotton, Huluhulu, Mao, Maʻo
Hawaiian: Ma'o, Huluhulu, Mao, Maʻo
Italian: Cotone hawaiiano, Ma'o, Maʻo
Korean: 하와이목화
Swedish: Hawaiibomull

Synonyms

Gossypium hirsutum f. tomentosum (Nutt. ex Seem.) Roberty
Gossypium parvifolium Nutt. ex Seem.
Gossypium sandvicense Parl.
Gossypium tomentosum var. parvifolium Nutt. ex G.Watt

Flowers

In flower: March to June, August, November to January (from 37 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)
Flower colour: yellow (USDA PLANTS Database)

Characteristics

Growth habit: Shrub
Lifespan: Perennial
In the US and Canada: Hawaii: native

Photos

FlowerPhoto: Sonny Gamponia, CC0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: jimsox, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: Sonny Gamponia, CC0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: Damien Wallace, CC0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Rosario Douglas, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Paul, CC0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Kevin Faccenda, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons

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.