Gossypium is the plant genus containing the species that produce most commercial cotton.
Gossypium belongs to the mallow family, Malvaceae. Its species are shrubs or small trees whose seeds develop inside capsules called cotton bolls. Each seed is covered with soft fibers, technically elongated single-celled hairs, that can be spun into thread.
The most commercially important cotton species include Gossypium hirsutum, upland cotton, and Gossypium barbadense, which includes extra-long-staple cotton such as Egyptian cotton. Different species and varieties provide fibers with different lengths, strengths, and textures.
Cotton is sometimes mistaken for a tree crop because some Gossypium plants become woody and perennial in warm climates. Commercial farming often grows them as annuals. The genus name is also the source of the botanical term “gossypol,” a natural compound found in cotton plants.