Sunday, February 15, 2009

Gossypium hirsutum L.

English Name : Wild cotton, American cotton, American upland cotton, Bourbon cotton, Mexican cotton, Upland cotton

Family : Malvaceae

Origin : Central America

Description
A small tree to 5 m in height and 15 cm in stem diameter. The plant is deeply rooted with a taproot and laterals. The bark is gray and smooth, but tough and stringy. The stem wood of older plants is of medium density and brittle. The twigs are relatively stout. The leaves on young plants are usually without lobes; older plants usually have three lobes or occasionally are deeply incised with five lobes. The light green leaves have petioles 3 to 8 cm long and blades 10 to 15 by 12 to 15 cm. Bracteoles are pointed and may have one to seven or more teeth. The flowers of wild cotton are large and showy with cream to pale yellow petals, sometimes with a red spot at the base of the petals. The capsules have three to five valves with a smooth surface and many black gland dots and yield white or brown lint with seeds embedded. The seeds vary from black and smooth to green with tightly adhering fuzz.

Habitat
Wild cotton is mainly a plant of the coastal strand and lower coastal plains. The species has a particular affinity for small islands. It also grows in disturbed places, particularly along roads and on river overflow areas, well inland.

Parts Used : Leaves, root and seeds

Herb Effects
Abortifacient, aphrodisiac, astringent, contraceptive, cytostat, diuretic, emmenagogue, emollient, hemostat, hypercholesterolemic, hypertriglyceridemic, hypocholesterolemic, lactagogue. oxytocic, uterotonic and vasoconstrictor.

Medicinal Use
The leaves, roots and seeds are useful for treating asthma, snake bitess, bleeding, bronchosis, abdominal cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, nasal cancer, uterine cancer, colds, constipation, cough, cramps, cystosis, diarrhea, dysentery, dyslactea, dysuria, earache, enterosis, epilepsy, fever, fibroids, gonorrhea, headache, hemorrhoids, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, hypochondria, inflammations, laryngosis, pains, polyps, pulmonosis, rheumatism, snakebites, tumor, uterosis, UTI and water retention.

Dosage
100 g root/1 liter water, reduced by boiling to 0.5 liter, take 50 g liquid every half hour; 3 leaves in 1 liter water for hypertension; 6–8 g seed/150 g water or milk, 3 ×/day as lactagogue; 1–2 tbsp fluid extract during childbirth.

Reference

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