Gossypium hirsutum (Mexican Cotton): Wild populations of G.
hirsutum are found in coastal vegetation of Central and southern
North America and were also encountered on islands of the West
Indies and islands in the Pacific. Cotton remains dating to
3500 BC have been found in the Tehuacan Caves in Mexico. Spanish
explorers in the 1500's found cotton under cultivation throughout
the Mexican and Central American lowlands. With the arrival of the
Spaniards in the Americas, the annual forms of Mexican cotton were
spread to other parts of the world and during the past 200 years,
commercial cottons have been derived mainly from Mexican Cotton.
Gossypium arboreum (Pakistani-Indian Cotton): Native to Northwest
India and Pakistan. 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.
Gossypium herbaceum (African-West Asian Cotton): Native to
sub-Saharan Africa and Arabia in semi-desert and savanna where it
grows as a perennial shrub. It was probably domesticated in
Ethiopia or southern Arabia and its cultivation spread to Persia,
Afghanistan, Turkey, North Africa, Spain, Ukraine, Turkestan
and China (first cultivation in China was in about 600 AD).
Domestication included selecting for cultivars that grew as
annuals.
Gossypium barbadense (South American Cotton): Probably once
widespread along Pacific and Atlantic coasts of South America, wild
populations of this species are now only known from coastal
Ecuador. The oldest cotton textiles recorded from South America are
from archaeological excavations in the northern Chilean desert and
date to 3600 BC. Cotton growing became widespread in South
America and spread to the West Indies where Columbus encountered
it. In about 1670, planting of G. barbadense began in the British
North American colonies when cotton planters were brought in from
Barbados.
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