2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Barbados cotton plant (Latin Gossypium barbadense) - a small shrub tree of the genus Cotton (Latin Gossypium) of the Malvaceae family (Latin Malvaceae). This species has been cultivated to produce extra-long fibers, over 34 millimeters in length, for enhancing tissue quality. This tropical plant, very sensitive to frost, produces yellow flowers and fruits with black seeds and unusually long silky fibers. For the successful growth of the Barbados cotton plant, high humidity and full sun are required. The chemical gossypol contained in the plant protects it from harmful insects and fungi.
What's in your name
This type of cotton was grown in South America four thousand years BC. By 1000 BC, Peruvian cotton bolls were indistinguishable from modern varieties of Barbados Cotton. Throughout South America and the West Indies, American aborigines cultivated cotton widely, as Christopher Columbus told the Europeans. British colonists commercialized cotton cultivation and by 1650 AD Barbados became the first British colony in the West Indies to export cotton to England and European countries. This type of Cotton plant owes this fact to its Latin specific epithet “barbadense” (Barbados).
The plant is commonly known as Pima cotton, or simply Pima. It reflects the assistance of the North American Pima Indians in the cultivation of cotton on experimental farms in Arizona in the early nineties of the last millennium. It is grown in small quantities. Pima's share of total cotton production in the United States of America does not exceed five percent.
The so-called "Egyptian Cotton" is a variety of the Barbados Cotton Plant with extra-long fibers. Egyptian cotton products are highly regarded all over the world.
Description
The appearance of the Barbados cotton plant is quite traditional for the plants of the genus. It is a perennial shrub with long stems that provide a solid support for large, lobed leaves, usually three lobes. Leaves are petiolate, green. On the surface of the leaf plate, veins are clearly visible, the main and lateral ones, of a lighter color.
The petals of the flower corolla are yellow with purple or red spots at the base. The corolla has a double protection against external threats in the form of a small sepal calyx and a picturesque epicalix (subachia) formed by beautiful stipules with a heart-shaped base and a serrated edge. The upper teeth are long, similar to spread fingers or bird's feet. The surface of the stipules is light green with numerous dark green specks. The flower corolla is buried in stipules, like a rose in a flower vase.
The most important part of the plant is the fruit - seed pods containing black seeds and light white fiber, leading in length among all types of plants of the genus Cotton.
Usage
Barbados cotton and its varieties have been cultivated by people since legendary times, who did not know colonial dependence and are counted for several millennia. Thanks to such long-term human attention to the plant, its fruits give people high-quality lightweight fiber, products from which are soft, lightweight and graceful, and therefore are highly valued all over the world.
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Cotton wool sometimes it is also found under such a name as Asclepius. This plant most often belongs to perennial species, but there are also annuals. Among the characteristics of the fleece, it should be noted its amazing decorativeness, the presence of medicinal properties, as well as a very pleasant and bright aroma.
Cotton Plant Erased
Cotton plant Sturta (Latin Gossypium sturtianum) - perennial picturesque plant of the genus Cotton (Latin Gossypium) of the Malvaceae family (Latin Malvaceae). It is a woody shrub native to Australia. Cotton fiber is very short and therefore cannot compete with species of the genus grown for fiber harvest.
Herbaceous Cotton Plant
Herbaceous cotton plant (Latin Gossypium herbaceum) - a perennial plant of the genus Cotton (Latin Gossypium) of the Malvaceae family (Latin Malvaceae). The native of semi-arid African regions has survived in the wild to this day. The cotton fiber of the seed bolls is considered the coarsest and shortest among the species of the genus Cotton cultivated by man.
Treelike Cotton Plant
Treelike cotton plant (Latin Gossypium arboreum) - a perennial plant of the genus Cotton (Latin Gossypium) of the Malvaceae family (Latin Malvaceae). It is a shrub that grows up to two meters in height. Its large bowl-shaped flowers show the world magnificent dark purple petals, giving the shrub a noble appearance.
The Many-sided Cotton Plant
The tenth international sale exhibition with the promising name “GRAND TEXTILES”, which will be held in Moscow from November 2 to 5 this year (2017), is a good reason to remember the plant called “Cotton plant”. This unpretentious, picturesque and multifaceted creation of nature is the main source for the production of fabrics, from which outfits are made not only for fashionistas, but also for all people of our small and fragile planet
