CHAPTER XIV 



MALVACEAE 



GOSSYPIUM spp. 



COTTON, Gossypium spp., is the chief fiber crop of the world. 

 There are several commercial species in the genus, the number 

 ranging from 19 to 40, depending upon the classification followed. 

 These have been divided into two main groups, the New World 

 cottons which include the Upland and Sea Island varieties, char- 

 acterized by a % phyllotaxy; and the Old World cottons, among 

 which are G. herbaceum, G. arboreum, and others having a 3^ 

 phyllotaxy. 



According to Brown (9), the three important species represented 

 in the United States are G. barbadense, G. peruvianum, and 

 G. hirsutum. From these, and very probably from others, many 

 varieties have been derived by selection and hybridization. The 

 number of varieties in cultivation fluctuates since new hybrids 

 are constantly being developed on the one hand, while the use of 

 others is discontinued for some reason or other. In 192.7, Brown 

 listed 75 varieties of Upland cotton, stating that the list was not 

 to be considered complete or exhaustive, as he had included in 

 it only the "most prominent old-time varieties, some varieties from 

 which common everyday varieties have sprung, and the leading 

 varieties being grown at present." Duggar (13), some years 

 earlier, stated: "It is probable that the number of distinct vari- 

 eties, each differing from the other in one or more items of botanical 

 importance, exceeds one hundred . ' ' He simplified the classification 

 greatly by dividing the American Upland, short-staple cotton into 

 six classes, to which he added a seventh class with intermediate 

 staple, and an eighth group including all the long-staple varieties. 



GENERAL MORPHOLOGY 



The Shoot. — In the wild state, cotton is a perennial with a 

 shrubby or tree-like habit; but, in cultivation, it grows as an 

 herbaceous annual or biennial. In Upland varieties, the main 



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