Welcome
back to another episode of Lost in the Farmers Market. This post was scheduled
for Friday the 9th but I had to do some additional research on the topic
in question. Today’s post will cover a specific species of plant that has
changed the world, some of its history is bad and some of it is good much like
a number of well-known commercial crops worldwide. Let me start by saying that
this is a plant I had for sale at the market up until the week before last and
most visitors seemed uninterested in it. This could be because it doesn’t have the
flash and flare of a lot of plant species or perhaps it was just a bit too
agricultural. The plant I am talking about is Cotton, Gossypium hirsutum.
The variety I was offering was called Mississippi Brown which is a brown lint
cotton that was grown by African-American slaves before 1860, the seed for the
plants originates from a plantation near Natchez Mississippi via a seed saver
named John Coykendall. I purchased the seed through a seed catalog called
Southern Exposure Seed Exchange who offer a number of non-white lint cotton
varieties.
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| Mississippi brown in bloom, the white blooms fade to pink and are reddish when the petals fall off. |
Now
to understand cotton we need to start with the name, Gossypium hirsuitum,
which is a very specific botanical Latin name. Gossypium likely comes in
part or whole from the word Gossypinus which literally means cottony. Hirsuitum
is easier to pin down as it originates from either Hirsuites which means
a rough hair covering or Hirsuitus which means something is hirsuite,
and covered with fairly coarse and stiff long erect or ascending straight
hairs. Either way you look at it, cotton is known for producing hairy fuzzy
stuff via its cotton bolls. For note the word boll specifically refers to the
rounded seed capsule of plants such as cotton or flax.
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| Mississippi Brown Cotton as seen in the crescent bed |
Cotton
is a member of the Malvaceae family which are better known as the Mallows, the
most famous of the mallows in the garden is the Hollyhock (Alcea sp.).
The mallow family includes the plant from which the original marshmellows were
made by the Egyptians using the sap of a Type of mallow as far back as 2000 BCE.
The most famous member of the family of course are the Hibiscus branch of the
family which are best exemplified in southern gardens by Cotton-Rose (Hibiscus
mutabilis), Swamp Rose Mallow (H. moscheutos) and,
 |
| Hibisucus moscheutos 'Fireball'- this one was newly planted in the crescent bed last week. |
Scarlet Rose Mallow
(H. coccineus). Typically, large vibrant hibiscus blooms are thought of
as the exclusive purview of the tropics but if you are clever you can have all
that and not have to move to Hawaii. I should note that the most common example
of the Hibiscus family in the eastern side of the United States is likely to be
the Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) which is a very commonly available
perennial deciduous shrub used in the landscape.
 |
| Rose of Sharon in this case is pure white, but is available in blue, lilac and shades of pink as well as bicolor forms. |
As
for food, believe it or not, the Okra family are also in the Mallow family, the
Okra we can buy at the store is all Abelmoschus esculentum. For reference,
since the word Moschus and similar versions have come up a lot in the last
paragraph, it likely originates from the word moschatus which means musky or
musky scented. The other big word in the name, Esculentum means edible.
 |
| Abelmoschus esculentum 'Red Burgundy' - this is an African-American heritage variety of Okra |
Recently I found out that there are species of
okra that get big enough to literally be a tree and I have a specimen of one
which is pictured below.
 |
| Abelmoschus manihot 'Cheif Kubo's Prize' - South Sea Salad tree |
There
is one family of distant relatives that is known in the bonsai trade, and is a
fairly uncommon sight in the garden center trade. The common names for this
cousin of Cotton are Indian Mallow and Flowering Maple, but its scientific name
is Callianthe megapotamica, though it used to be known as Abutilon
megapotamica. A prime specimen in the test gardens is pictured below.
 |
| Callianthe megapotamica 'Orange Hot Lava' - this species of Abutilon is hardy to zone 7b so it should do ok in the ground in Fayetteville NC. |
Now,
if you really want to get crazy about how amazingly large the Mallow clan is,
the worlds stinkiest fruit, the Durian (Durio kutjensis) is a member of
the mallow family. The durian is one of those fruits that is baffling as to how
and any anyone would just opt to eat something that smells and tastes horrible
and takes considerable effort to extract food from. Its popularity is a mystery
to me but before anyone gives me grief about judging another culture, I have
eaten a durian before, and below you will see a picture of the shard of the spiky
shell I kept from the “Great Durian escapade of 1997” as proof. If you the
reader want to hear the complete story, I’ll gladly post it here but for now,
lets get back to cotton.
 |
| I kept this shell shard around since the late 90's as proof I suffered through an actual durian fruit. Stangely enough, I noticed then, that in the first Super Mario Brothers game, theres a flying character called Laiktu who throws what looks like durans at you. Coincidence? I think not! |
We
know that two varieties of cotton were cultivated in Asia before the 1st
century the two varieties cultivated were Levant Cotton (Gossypium herbaceum)
and Tree Cotton (Gossypium arboretum). The first examples of cotton were
introduced to Europe by Arab Traders via Italy and Spain. Europeans at the time
actually thought for some time that cotton which similar then in texture to
wool came from a plant called the Vegetable Lamb of Tartary. Yes, this is a
thing, they even drew pictures of what it might look like at the time.
This
misconception was because Europeans were seeing the cotton product but had no
idea what the plant it came from looked like. Little did they know cotton would
become a major world product and would be part of the foundation for the rise
of a superpower, one of the causations of a civil war, and a critical aspect of
international politics for several centuries. Cotton didn’t really come into its
own as a commercial product in Europe at least until the end of the 16th
century when it had been spread to the Americas, and new varieties were
introduced in Africa in the 18th century. As we know the Atlantic
slave trade occurred from about 1445 until one of several dates in history. You
could say the start of the American Civil war (April 12th, 1861) and
the Anaconda plan ended it in the largest nation that utilized African slave
labor, there is the Emancipation Proclamation issued by Abraham Lincoln on
January 1st 1863 or the end of the civil war on April 9TH
1865. No matter what date you use as the landmark moment when the slave trade
ended, it is still fair to say that the crops of cotton in the new world were
certainly fertilized with the blood and misery of the enslaved. You cannot
discuss cotton as a crop, until you look into one of its greatest myths, Eli
Whitney did not invent the cotton gin. Hand held roller type cotton gins were
being used in India as far back as 500 CE. There is also solid evidence of the
existence of the ‘Indian worm-gear roller gin’ dating back to the 16th
century which also disproves the idea that Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin
wholesale. The fact is that you cannot invent what already existed, only
improve upon it and this is what Eli Whitney did in 1793 with his patent being
recognized in 1794. There is some contention on if or if not he even improved on
the design as some historians have reason to believe that it was actually
slaves who designed Whitney’s gin and since African-Americans were not counted
as people at the time and could not get a patent, Whitney by some means got possession
of the gin and went on to proliferate the design and make a profit off it.
 | |
| Mississippi Brown Cotton with unopened Bolls. |
Historical
implications aside, the species of Cotton I sold this year was Gossypium hirsuitum
which is known commonly as Upland or Mexican Cotton. It called Mexican
cotton because there is suggestive evidence indicating that it was cultivated
in the Tehuacan Valley in what is Mexico today as far back as 3500 BCE. Tracking
down where it was first domesticated however has proven elusive but, it is
still the earliest proof of cotton cultivation in the Americas. This also
suggests that either the species was already here when people crossed the Alaskan
land bridge or it was brought here and through genetic selection became its own
species. The use of cotton was certainly not lost on the Meso-Americans and Native
Americans as it is known that the Zuni whom are Native American Pueblo peoples
use Upland Cotton in their ceremonial garments which cements the fact that
cotton was here in the Americas long before Europeans showed up. It also
suggests that a historical theory that the Americas had contact with Africa and
Asia long before Europeans located the ‘New World’ is factual to some degree.
The Olmec Colossal Heads which have some definite African facial features have
long suggested that Meso-American cultures had contact with Africa somehow.
 |
| Seed Capsule taken from Hibiscus moscheutos 'Texas Star' note the pod has split five ways, this is normal for a lot of the Mallow family, this particular cut also resembles how a wheel of cheese is cut which has lead to the nickname 'Cheeses' in reference to some Members of the mallow family. |
 |
| Gossypium hirsuitum 'Nankeen' - Another brown lint cotton with a history and a role in the American civil war, the seed are int he lower left and the cotton fiber is in the upper right. Nankeen is known for getting brighter once washed and processed, also did you know cotton fiber provides more cellulose (90%) per pound than hemp (57%) and wood (40-50%). |
This
of course is not the end of the story, a recent archaeological study using
modern technology including gene sequencing methods suggests that cotton was
cultivated in Egypt possibly as early as the first century of the Common Era.
A
Futurity article about it
the
original study:
The
study verifies that Gossypium herbaceium, which is called African cotton
in the study was cultivated there but also Gossypium hirsuitum, may have
originated in the upper Nile region as well. What is really interesting is that
the same study seems to indicate the existence and or involvement of another
species of cotton, Gossypium barbadense or South American cotton. All of
that does support the long-held theory that Africa had contact with the Americas
before the Europeans did. Regardless of where it originated and whom did what,
Cotton is one of the most significant domesticated crops in the world, wars
have been fought over it, entire populations and cultures have been uplifted
and downtrodden because of it and few other crops have such a bloody history.
Going
back to where I started with this article, I chose to sell cotton plants this
year because they have a good historical story behind them. Maybe the plants aren’t
as flashy as other garden annuals, and perhaps most are turned off by what they
consider a boring agricultural plant. As you can see even with my abbreviated telling
of the origin of the species, the details on the wide variety of plants in the
family. I ended up planting the bulk of the unsold Mississippi Brown Cotton
plants that failed to sell at the market and honestly, I found out that they
are quite pretty unlike the bulk grown cotton you see in fields by the
roadside. As a final note, if you bought any of these cotton plants and you see
ants on them, this is normal, as it turns out Upland Cotton has just one unique
feature. Upland cotton has what’s called ‘extrafloral nectar glands’ which
produce nectar to attract ants which defend the plant against insects that
would otherwise eat the plant’s foliage or seed. This means that for the most
part short of disease this type of cotton probably won’t require insecticides.
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| A Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly, Papilio glaucus. |
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| Thses are the actual flowers of the Castor Bean (Ricinus communis), the spiky parts contain the ovaries and form the protective covers for the seeds. |
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| Castor bean seed pods are more impressive than the flowers. |
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| Echinacea purpurea, possibly Pow Wow Wild berry, but this one plant has decided to have crazy swirly petals. |
With
all that garden goodness covered this is the part of the blog where I have to
advertise for the Fayetteville City Market. Now I know you readers probably
don’t much like advertisements, but by booth at the City Market helps to cover
the costs of running the test garden and literally maintains the Research &
Development budget that is used to bring you the information that has made up
the backbone of this blog. Also, as of
the start of 2019, my booth can now process credit or debit cards thanks to the
acquisition of s a Square reader so your payment options have doubled. With
that said, if you want to get some GMO-free, Organic vegetables, herbs and
fruiting shrubs come on down to the Fayetteville City Market on 325 Maxwell
Street in downtown Fayetteville between the Hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm on
Saturdays. Even in bad weather the market goes on though you might have to look
for me under the ‘arches’ of the Transportation Museum’s front entryway.
Plants
& Stuff Available Now:
Herbs:
Basil, Thai: 3” - $3.00
Basil, Mirihani: 3” - $3.00
Rue,
Marbled:
Santolina, Etruscan: 5” - $5.00
Santolina,
Etruscan: 3” - $4.00
Valerian: 3” - $3.00
Flowers:
Butterfly Weed: 4” - $4.00
Common
Mallow ‘Zebrina’: 3” – $4.00
Coneflower, Feeling Pink: 3” - $4.00
Coneflower, Pow Wow White: 3” –
$4.00
Coneflower
‘Green Twister’: 3” – $4.00
Foxglove,
Camelot Lavender: 3” – $3.00
Foxglove,
Camelot Rose: 3” – $3.00
Rose
Mallow ‘Luna Red’: 3” – $4.00
Rose
Mallow ‘Disco Belle Pink’: 3” – $3.00
Rose
Mallow ‘Disco Belle White’: 3” – $3.00
Salvia, New Dimension Blue: 5” - $5.00
Fruits
& Vegetables:
Peppers, Ornamental ‘Black Magic’:
4” - $4.00
Peppers, Ghost: 4”- $3.00
Coming
Soon:
Heuchera
Americana ‘Marvelous Marble’
Sage,
Common
These
days I am generally at Leclair’s General Store once a week, for the weekly
Sustainable Neighbors meeting at 5:30pm through 7:00 pm. If you have questions
then I will be there to answer your questions. Since our meetings have an
open-door policy you don’t need to sign up for anything or join anything, you
can come on in ask for us and join the meetings. If not, you can always send me
questions through this blog or visit the farmer’s market or pay attention to
what Sustainable Neighbors is doing at the link below.
https://www.meetup.com/SustainableNeighbors/
This brings to a close
the sixteenth LITFM post of the year, stay tuned the next episode which
should be posted on the 23rd of August. Please let me know if you would like to hear more plant history and if you liked this format change.
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