Gossypium hirsutum

Upland cotton
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Malvales
Family:	Malvaceae
Genus:	Gossypium
Species:	G. hirsutum
Binomial name
Gossypium hirsutum

Gossypium hirsutum, known as upland cotton or Mexican cotton, is the most widely planted species of cotton in the United States, constituting some 95% of all cotton production; it is native to Central America and possibly Mexico. Worldwide, the figure is about 90% of all cotton production is of cultivars derived from this species.

Archeological evidence from the Tehuacan Valley in Mexico shows the cultivation of this species as long ago as 5,800 BCE^{[citation needed]}. This is the earliest evidence of cotton cultivation in the Americas found thus far.

Gossypium hirsutum includes a number of varieties or cross-bred cultivars with varying fiber lengths and tolerances to a number of growing conditions. The longer length varieties are called "long staple upland" and the shorter length varieties are referred to as "short staple upland". The long staple varieties are the most widely cultivated in commercial production.

Not only serving as resource for clothes, Gossypium hirsutum and Gossypium herbaceum are the main species used to produce 4.8 million metric tons of cottonseed oil (Janick 1999).

The Zuni people use this plant to make ceremonial garments, and the fuzz is made into cords and used ceremonially.

External links

• Cotton Botany at Cotton Inc.
• The Story of Cotton
• Upland cotton at Plant of the Week
• Upland cotton in herbal use
• Gossypium hirsutum in West African plants - A Photo Guide.
• Gossypium hirsutum genetics 1952 to present