Family: Malvaceae

Origin, Description & Uses
Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) comes from Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. It’s a fast-growing shrub with broad leaves and fluffy seed pods that produce the cotton used in clothing, textiles, and other products. Its seeds can also be processed for oil or feed.

Risks & Threats
Naturalized on Oʻahu and Maui, upland cotton grows quickly and spreads easily. These traits let it compete with native plants and disrupt local ecosystems, making it a species to watch carefully to protect Hawaii’s biodiversity.

High Risk Traits:

• Naturalized on Oahu, and East Maui, Hawaiian Islands
  
• Naturalized in Australia
  
• Thrives in tropical climates
  
• Tolerates many soil conditions (and potentially able to exploit many different habitat types)
  
• Host of pests and pathogens
  
• Capable of hybridization with other Gossypium species
  
• A facultative self-pollinator
  
• May reach reproductive maturity in less than 1 year
  
• Seeds dispersed accidentally along roads, by wind, water, birds and by passage through cattle, among other vectors
  
• Seeds may persist in soil

Low Risk Traits:

• Despite ability to spread, evidence of negative impacts are generally not reported or unspecified
  
• Fodder tree
  
• Non-toxic foliage (although seeds may be toxic)
  
• Shade-intolerant
  
• Important commercial crop