Gossypium barbadense
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| Gossypium barbadense |
American Pima cotton (Gossypium barbadense), also known as Extra Long Staple, South American, Creole, Sea Island cotton, Egyptian, Algodon pais, and West Indische katoen, is a species of cotton plant which is widely cultivated. It is a tropical perennial plant that produces yellow flowers and has black seeds. It grows as a small, bushy tree and yields cotton with unusually long, silky fibers. It was once prevalent in South America along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. Wild populations of this plant are now only known to be found in Ecuador. In order to grow, it requires full sun and high humidity and rainfall. G. barbadense is also very sensitive to frost.
The first clear sign of domestication of this cotton species comes from a site on the Peruvian coast where cotton bolls dating to 2500 BC were found. By 1000 BC Peruvian cotton bolls were no different to modern cultivars of G. barbadense. Cotton growing became widespread in South America and spread to the West Indies where Christopher Columbus came across it. Cotton became a commercial slave plantation crop in the West Indies so that by the 1650’s Barbados had become the first British West Indian colony to export cotton. In about 1670, planting of G. barbadense began in the British North American colonies when cotton planters were brought over from Barbados. It was however soon surpassed in commercial production by another native American species, Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) which today represents about 95% of U.S production.
This plant has antifungal properties and contains the chemical gossypol, making it insect resistant. It is also sometimes used as an anti-fertility drug. In Suriname’s traditional medicine, the leaves of G. barbadense are used to treat hypertension and delayed/irregular menstruation.
[edit] References
- Sauer, J.D. 1993. Historical geography of crop plants - a select roster. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida.
