WeDigFLPlants’ Cotton Relatives in the Florida Panhandle

Chances are you are wearing the subject of this new expedition. Parts of the Florida Panhandle appear to have received overnight snowfall at this time of year as the bright white fibers erupt from the fruits in the cotton fields (photo). Upland Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) is native to South Florida but planted widely throughout the southern tier of US states, from California to southern Virginia. Cotton is a member of the family Malvaceae, and one can find 73 other native and naturalized species from the family with Upland Cotton in Florida. These include the charismatic Rosemallows (Hibiscus). This expedition combines specimens from the herbaria at the University of West Florida and Florida State University. We make the assumption that most of the specimens in these collections will be from the Florida panhandle, given the location of the campuses, but you are likely to see some things from the peninsula as well.  For more info on WeDigFLPlants, visit https://biospex.org/project/wedigflplants. Thank you for participating!

Austin Mast

Director, Florida State University’s Robert K. Godfrey Herbarium