Cotton

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Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus Gossypium in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose and may contain minor percentages of waxes, fats, pectins, and water. Under natural conditions, cotton bolls facilitate the dispersal of the seeds. The plant is a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, Africa (including Egypt) and India. The greatest diversity of wild cotton species is found in Mexico, followed by Australia and Africa. Cotton was independently domesticated in the Old and New Worlds. The fiber is most often spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft, breathable, and durable textile. The use of cotton for fabric is known to date to prehistoric times; the presence of Gossypium barbadense has been identified at a site in Nanchoc District, Peru, and dated to the 7th–6th millennia BC, while indigo dyed textile fragments...

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