44 WILD AND CULTIVATED COTTONS 



cultivated cottons, there is practically no such thing as a completely 

 naked seed. The Sea Island cottons, perhaps by far the most highly 

 specialised series to man's necessities, have almost invariably a 

 minute crown of velvet (fuzz) surrounding the beak. G. Kirkii (an 

 undoubtedly wild species and one never recorded as met with under 

 cultivation) is the only cotton, so far as at present known, that 

 possesses a truly naked seed, but even with this species a few hairs 

 seem to adhere more firmly to the apex of the seed. In this respect 

 the cultivated plant that could be regarded as coming nearest to that 

 condition is the kidney cotton, G. brasiliense. And it is worthy of 

 passing note that of all the known wild species G. Kirkii approaches 

 nearest, in other characteristics, to G. brasiliense. The leaves have 

 much the same shape and texture, and in the herbarium dry into the 

 same dull brown-black shade ; moreover the seeds are singularly alike, 

 if the kidneyed condition be disregarded. 



Fuzzy Of the fuzzy-seeded species it might almost be said there are two 



great groups : first, an Asiatic-African and, second, an American. It 

 will be seen that with some hesitation I have placed a wild or at all 

 events long acclimatised plant, found in the eastern tracts of tropical 

 America, under G. punctatum (see p. 170). It would, from the con- 

 tention here set forth, have been perhaps more satisfactory to have 

 retained that plant under the name once given it, viz. G, jamaicense. 

 Across the Atlantic, on the western tracts of tropical Africa, is found 

 the true G. punctatum. These two plants, whether viewed as 

 independent species or as varieties of one common species, might 

 fairly well be described as demarcating the fuzzy-seeded cottons. 

 On the one hand there is the well-marked group formerly called by 

 writers on this subject ' the Asiatic cottons,' though these are equally 

 well represented in Africa, Egypt, and Arabia. On the other hand 

 there is an assemblage of fuzzy- seeded cottons, confined apparently 

 to America (Central and South more especially), that has hitherto 

 been entirely overlooked. 



These two groups may be represented THE ASIATIC by 

 G. arboreum, G. Nanking, G. obtusifoUum, and G. herbaceum ', 

 THE AMERICAN by G. mustelinum, G. Palmerii, G. fruticulosum, 

 G. Schottii, and G. lanceolatum. Wedged in (structurally and 

 geographically) between these remarkable assemblages stands 

 G. punctatum, which, as already stated, crosses the Atlantic to 

 dominate Western Africa on the one shore and Eastern America 

 on the other. 



