MALVACEAE 5 1 7 



Section I. Species with a Fuzz but no Floss. — "Wild species (never recorded 

 as met with under cultivation), distributed from the western coast tracts and 

 islands of America to Australia." Here are included G. sturtii, davidsonii, 

 klolzschianum, robinsoni, darwinii, tomentosiim, drynarioides, karknessii, and 

 slocksii. The bracteoles are free, extrafloral nectaries absent, the fruit small, 

 and the rather large seeds have a fuzz but no lint. 



Section II. Fuzzy-seeded Cottons with United Bracteoles. — " One or perhaps 

 two members of this section have been recorded as met with in a wild condi- 

 tion, the others are undoubted cultivated plants derived very possibly from 

 four specific types — G. arboreum, G. nanking, G. obtusifolium, and G. herba- 

 ceum." Most of these are Asiatic and African cottons. The bracteoles are 

 united below, the claws of the petals are purple, and the seeds are covered 

 with both fuzz and lint. Watt is strongly of the opinion that G. arboreum var. 

 ncglccta, was at an early date introduced into the United States, the form being 

 known as "Okra." Its cultivation was abandoned, however. 



G. nanking is the "Chinese cotton" of commerce, also known as "Siam 

 cotton" or " Nankin cotton." It is "cultivated in China, Japan, the Malaya, 

 Siam, Burma, India, the northwest Himalaya, Persia, Central Asia, to the 

 Celebes; less abundantly in Madagascar, Arabia, and Africa." 



G. obtusifolium is an oriental species that occurs both wild and cultivated 

 in India and Africa. Var. wightiana is the most valuable Indian cotton. 



G. herbaccum is not known to occur as a wild species anywhere, although 

 Watt is of the opinion that it is indigenous to North Arabia and Asia Minor. 

 In 1621, it was brought to the United States, and for a time cultivated, but 

 was finally replaced by the more desirable West Indian cottons. G. herbaceum 

 is considered to be the first cotton cultivated in Europe. Watt belie •its that 

 it still survives as an Upland cotton of the United States, though "mostly in 

 a state of hybridization with G. hirsutum." Cook regards our Upland cot- 

 tons as belonging to G. hirstdum. 



Section III. Fuzzy-seeded Cottons with Free Bracteoles. — These are Ameri- 

 can and, in one case, African species. Here belong G. mastelinum, punctatum, 

 hirsutum, palmerii, fruticidosum, schottii, lanceolatum, microcarpum, peruvi- 

 anum, and mexicanum. G. mustelinum is a native of Brazil and Colombia. 

 G. punctatum is native to southern United States, West Indies, and northern 

 Africa. It exists in a state of cultivation in various sections. Watt considers 

 G. hirsutum as "only a cultivated state of G. punctatum" . . In this 

 country, however, the Upland cottons are all considered as offsprings of 

 hirsutum (Fig. 214). G. palmerii, fruticulosum' and lanceolatum are Mexican 

 species. G. schottii is from Yucatan, and is known as the "split-leaved" cot- 

 ton. G. microcarpum, known as Ashmouni cotton and Red Peruvian cotton, 

 grows in Mexico, northern South America, Africa, and Malaya. It is culti- 

 vated. G. peruvianum is the Peruvian or Andes cotton. Watt regards many 

 of the Egyptian cottons as races or hybrids of this species. G. mexicanum 



