Cotton
(Gossypum herbaceum)
A textile and food plant cultivated for more than 8 millennia, the Cotton tree flourishes in tropical or subtropical climates. The shrub contains soft white fibres in its fruits: Cotton.
This material is revealed by the small ephemeral flowers of the Cotton plant, themselves coloured with white or yellow. Herodotus was astonished by the Cotton plant, which he describes as “a kind of plant that instead of fruit produces wool that is more beautiful and softer than that of sheep”.
But this is not the shrub’s only asset. It also contains seeds rich in fats and proteins from which Cottonseed oil is extracted. With a very mild fragrance and a reputedly sweet and neutral flavour, it is used in food or in cosmetics for its regenerating and softening properties.
