Gossypium arboreum
Gossypium arboreum
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
Tree cotton can be grown in the dry to moist tropics and subtropics, where it is found at elevations up to 1,600 metres. For commercial production it requires a climate that has a long, hot growing season with abundant moisture, followed by a drier period for harvesting the seed floss[1]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 26 - 36°c, but can tolerate 18 - 38°c[2]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 750 - 1,250mm, but tolerates 500 - 1,500mm[2]. Prefers a very sunny position in a light, fertile, well-drained soil[1]. Plants can tolerate a range of soils, including moderate levels of salt[2]. Prefers a pH in the range 6 - 7.2, tolerating 5.3 - 8.5[2]. Requires a position sheltered from strong winds[2]. There are two main forms of the plant:- var. Neglecta[Watt] produces very short fibres[3]. Var. Sanguinea[Watt] produces strong, good quality fibre[3].
Propagation
Seed - Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Gossypium+arboreum>
Pollinators
Data unavailable
References
- [1]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
- [2]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
- [3]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
- [4]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
- [5]Plants and People of Nepal — Manandhar. N. P. · Timber Press. Oregon. · 2002 · ISBN 0-88192-527-6 ↩︎Excellent book, covering over 1,500 species of useful plants from Nepal together with information on the geography and peoples of Nepal. Good descriptions of the plants with terse notes on their uses.
- [6]CosIng — http://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/ ↩︎CosIng is the European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients.