Gossypium hirsutum

Cotton, Cotton

Family: Malvaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Cotton is a naturalized perennial found in the Sacramento Valley and southern deserts in disturbed places and agricultural lands at elevations below 100 meters. Flowering from April to October, this plant produces cream or pale yellow flowers with a dark basal spot, typically 2 to 5 centimeters wide. Growing with widely branching stems 50 to 200 centimeters tall and covered in star-shaped hairs, it develops an erect habit. Its large leaves are heart-shaped with 3 to 5 shallow, widely ovate lobes measuring 4 to 10 centimeters across, featuring distinctive curved stipules. The fruit is a widely ovoid capsule 2 to 4 centimeters long, containing several seeds hidden by long hairs.

Habitat: Uncommon. Disturbed places, roadsides, agricultural land

Bloom period: Apr-Oct

Elevation: < 100 m

Bioregions: ScV, DSon (sporadic)

California counties: Imperial, Riverside, Tulare, San Diego, Fresno, Sacramento

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.