[G. hirsutum L. f. tomentosum (Nutt, ex Seem.) Roberty; G. sandvicense Pari.; G. tomentosum var. par- vifolium Nutt, ex G. Watt]
(end, V) Ma‘o, huluhulu, Hawaiian cotton
Shrubs 0.5-1.5 m tall, softly white tomentose. Leaf blades wider than long, usually 3—10(—12) cm wide, 3-lobed or sometimes 5-lobed to about the middle, the lobes ovate, acute or subacuminate, midvein on lower surface with basal gland absent or obscure, stipules subulate, 0.5-0.8 cm long, caducous. Flowers solitary or few in short cymes, pedicel nectaries absent; involucral bracts ovate, 15-25 mm long, dentate, with 5—9(—12) acute teeth; calyx erosely truncate, 9 mm long; petals bright yellow, without a maroon spot, fading greenish, 2—3.5(—4) cm long. Capsules 3-celled, coriaceous to woody, ovoid, cuspidate, 1.2-1.8 cm long, black-pitted. Seeds 2-4 per cell, ca. 5 mm long, densely covered with reddish brown lint. [2n = 52*.] Occurring primarily in arid, rocky, or clay coastal plains, 0-120 m, on all of the main islands except Hawaii.— Plate 122.
Gossypium tomentosum is one of the tetraploid cottons and presumably was derived from a Neotropical ancestor.