396 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. XVIII, October 1964 
fused cotton with Ab util on incanum, which also 
had the Hawaiian name ma'o and which also was 
used as a dye. That Brigham was in error is 
suggested from the following considerations: 
(1) Bennett’s use of the (then) accepted 
Latin nomenclature in identifying the 
numerous plants he described in his 
narrative, indicates that he was a com- 
petent botanist. 
(2) Bennett stated explicitly that the flowers 
were used as a source of the dye: accord- 
ing to Brigham it was the leaves of 
Abutilon which were used. 
(3) The name ma'o is applied both to G. 
foment osum and to A. incanum. The 
name is incomprehensible as a descrip- 
tion of either plant, but quite under- 
standable if it refers to a common dyeing 
property. 
(4) The word "nankeen” was used non- 
specifically in the 18th and 19th centuries 
to describe a brown-fibered cotton. It 
was applied both to Asiatic and to New 
World cottons and could reasonably have 
been applied by Bennett to the brown- 
fibered tomentosum . Bennett’s identifica- 
tion of this species as "G. religiosum” is 
consistent with other nomenclature of 
the same period. (An obvious specimen 
of G. tomentosum, no. 12935 in the Na- 
tional Herbarium, Washington, D.C., 
which was collected in 1845 by the U.S. 
Exploring Expedition under the com- 
mand of Charles Wilkes, is labelled 
"Gossypium religiosum .”) 
(5) It has been known for some time that 
the flowers of the cotton plant contain 
pigments, once thought to be of potential 
importance to the dyeing industry (Per- 
kin, 1899:825). Dr. C. R. Parks (1963) 
has recently made a chromatographic 
survey of these pigments and has shown 
that the depth of the yellow color in the 
petal is primarily determined by the 
relative amount of the flavonol pigment, 
gossypetin, which it contains in various 
glycosidal forms. Further he has shown 
that the petals of tomentosum have larger 
amounts of this pigment than those of 
other species. (This explains the bright 
sulphur-yellow shade of tomentosum 
flowers, as compared with the lemon- 
yellow of barbadense and the cream 
shades of many hirsutum forms). Solu- 
tions of gossypetin glycosides are bright 
yellow in color, but separate out in green- 
ish crystals when concentrated. Slightly 
alkaline solutions produce a green dye. 
According to Bennett (loc. cit.), the 
"astringent water of the taro patch” was 
used to mordant the dye— -possibly a 
matter of pH adjustment. 
The other Hawaiian name, hulu hulu ("hairy 
hairy”), does not seem to be a particularly apt 
description of the finely tomentose surface of 
the plant. One wonders whether the name may 
not, in fact, be a corrupted version of hooluu, 
which, according to Brigham (1911:171) is 
"the principal Hawaiian word meaning to color 
. . . to dive into the water, to plunge into a 
liquid, hence to dye. . . .” 
SUMMARY 
1. The wild cotton of the Hawaiian Islands, 
G. tomentosum Nutt., has never been found 
beyond the limits of the eight major islands of 
the group. Today it is only known on six of the 
islands: Niihau, Oahu, Molokai, Maui, Lanai, 
and Kahoolawe. There is apparently no definite 
record of its occurrence, or former occurrence, 
on Hawaii, despite general statements to that 
effect in the literature. 
2. Within its current geographical range, the 
species is found only in dry areas with an average 
annual rainfall of 20 inches or less. Its altitudi- 
nal range on any particular island therefore de- 
pends on local topography and position relative 
to rain-shadows. 
3. The most common habitat is as an under- 
story in thin Prosopis scrub, growing among 
partially weathered volcanic boulders. Less fre- 
quently it is found in more exposed positions, 
i.e., near beaches or (at relatively high altitudes) 
among thin low scrub. 
4. The species has not evolved morphologi- 
cally distinct island races. Those morphological 
characters which differentiate it taxonomically 
from other species of Gossypium are remarkably 
uniform. Other characters may vary apparently 
