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Gossypium barbadense
Gossypium barbadense is one of several species of cotton. It is in the mallow family. It has been cultivated since antiquity, but has been especially prized since a form with particularly long fibers was developed in the 19th century. Other names associated with this species include Sea Island, Egyptian, Pima, and extra-long staple (ELS) cotton.
The species is a tropical, frost-sensitive perennial that produces yellow flowers and has black seeds. It grows as a bush or small tree and yields cotton with unusually long, silky fibers.
G. barbadense originated in southwest Ecuador and northwest Peru. It is now cultivated around the world, including China, Egypt, Sudan, India, Australia, Peru, Israel, the southwestern United States, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. It accounts for about 5% of the world's cotton production.
Linnaeus is given credit for describing Gossypium barbadense ("the cotton encountered in Barbados"). Today, this name is universally accepted; however, there is some question whether the modern definition matches what Linnaeus described. Paul A. Fryxell argues, although the evidence surviving from Linnaeus's time is less than ideal, the name is applied correctly. On the other hand, Y. I. Prokhanov and G. K. Brizicky argue that Linnaeus never actually saw any examples of the species we now call G. barbadense.
The species is a member of the mallow family, Malvaceae. Authors differ on the ranks between family and genus. A recent example that considers cladistics is Bayer et al. (1999). In this system, G. barbadense and other cottons fall in the subfamily Malvoideae and tribe Gossypiae. The tribe Gossypiae includes cotton species and others that produce the substance gossypol.
The genus Gossypium encompasses the cottons. The genus can be divided by chromosome count. Subgenus Karpas has 52 chromosomes (four sets of 13). This subgenus encompasses G. barbadense, along with G. hirsutum and a few other New World cottons. In comparison, the commercially important Old World cottons have 26 chromosomes. Most botanists who study Gossypium believe that the group of cottons with 52 chromosomes forms a clade. In other words, G. barbadense, G. hirsutum, and a few other New World cotton species arose from the same ancestor.
One form of G. barbadense has been recognized as a variety. Var brasiliense is called "kidney seed cotton" because its seeds are fused together into somewhat kidney-shaped masses.
G. barbadense, like other cottons, forms a small bush in its first year. In cultivation, it is treated as an annual. If allowed to, it can grow into a large bush or even a small tree of height 1–3 m. Leaves are mostly 8–20 cm long, with 3-7 lobes. One distinction between G. barbadense and the more commonly cultivated G. hirsutum is that G. barbadense has three to five lobes whereas G. hirsutum has only three. The lobes of G. barbadense's are also more deeply cut, about two-thirds the length of the leaf, as opposed to one half for G. hirsutum.
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Gossypium barbadense
Gossypium barbadense is one of several species of cotton. It is in the mallow family. It has been cultivated since antiquity, but has been especially prized since a form with particularly long fibers was developed in the 19th century. Other names associated with this species include Sea Island, Egyptian, Pima, and extra-long staple (ELS) cotton.
The species is a tropical, frost-sensitive perennial that produces yellow flowers and has black seeds. It grows as a bush or small tree and yields cotton with unusually long, silky fibers.
G. barbadense originated in southwest Ecuador and northwest Peru. It is now cultivated around the world, including China, Egypt, Sudan, India, Australia, Peru, Israel, the southwestern United States, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. It accounts for about 5% of the world's cotton production.
Linnaeus is given credit for describing Gossypium barbadense ("the cotton encountered in Barbados"). Today, this name is universally accepted; however, there is some question whether the modern definition matches what Linnaeus described. Paul A. Fryxell argues, although the evidence surviving from Linnaeus's time is less than ideal, the name is applied correctly. On the other hand, Y. I. Prokhanov and G. K. Brizicky argue that Linnaeus never actually saw any examples of the species we now call G. barbadense.
The species is a member of the mallow family, Malvaceae. Authors differ on the ranks between family and genus. A recent example that considers cladistics is Bayer et al. (1999). In this system, G. barbadense and other cottons fall in the subfamily Malvoideae and tribe Gossypiae. The tribe Gossypiae includes cotton species and others that produce the substance gossypol.
The genus Gossypium encompasses the cottons. The genus can be divided by chromosome count. Subgenus Karpas has 52 chromosomes (four sets of 13). This subgenus encompasses G. barbadense, along with G. hirsutum and a few other New World cottons. In comparison, the commercially important Old World cottons have 26 chromosomes. Most botanists who study Gossypium believe that the group of cottons with 52 chromosomes forms a clade. In other words, G. barbadense, G. hirsutum, and a few other New World cotton species arose from the same ancestor.
One form of G. barbadense has been recognized as a variety. Var brasiliense is called "kidney seed cotton" because its seeds are fused together into somewhat kidney-shaped masses.
G. barbadense, like other cottons, forms a small bush in its first year. In cultivation, it is treated as an annual. If allowed to, it can grow into a large bush or even a small tree of height 1–3 m. Leaves are mostly 8–20 cm long, with 3-7 lobes. One distinction between G. barbadense and the more commonly cultivated G. hirsutum is that G. barbadense has three to five lobes whereas G. hirsutum has only three. The lobes of G. barbadense's are also more deeply cut, about two-thirds the length of the leaf, as opposed to one half for G. hirsutum.