Common name: Cotton, Kapas कपास (Hindi), பருத்தி parutthi (Tamil)
Botanical name: Gossypium arboreum Family: Malvaceae
Native to Northwest India and Pakistan and as far back as 2000 BC it was being
used by the Harappan civilization of the Indus Valley in the production of
cotton textiles. Some cultivars are tall perennial shrubs, others short
annuals. One of the perennial cultivars was introduced to East Africa and 2000
years ago was being grown by the Meroe people of Nubia who are considered to
be the first cotton weavers in Africa. This variety of cotton was spread to
other parts of Africa including Kano in Nigeria which from the 9th century
became a cotton manufacturing centre.
In the wild cotton shrubs can grow up to 3 m (10 ft) high. The leaves are
broad and have three to five (or even seven) lobes. The seeds are contained in
a capsule called a boll, each seed surrounded by a downy fibre called lint.
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