The Wild Cotton flower is a beautiful pale yellow or white at first and grows wild on Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands.
From a very pale yellow, the cotton flower turns into a pretty pink
British Loyalists who were taking refuge from the American revolution set up Cotton and Sisal Plantations in the Turks and Caicos Islands. These were worked by imported slaves with the Cotton and Sisal being sold in London and New York. The cotton plantations were doomed as the competition was fierce and the soil was thin and not very fertile. After a hurricane in 1813, the cotton plantations were to perish.
After the blossom falls the Wild Cotton forms a tiny fruit called a boll.
The cotton boll bursts open when ripe to expose the packed seeds that are surrounded by the cotton fiber.
All the cotton photos are taken of the plants growing at Harbour Club Villas ……… Yes, you too can grow them or come and see us in the islands as it grows wild here in different spots.
Cotton flowers and pods ready to burst forth with cotton fibres
- My cotton plants are loaded with cotton bolls right now and I’m sure to see more cotton plants sprouting up all over Harbour Club Villas
Enjoy the photos as this plant is quite showy when flowering as well as when full of cotton. The local birds here use this cotton when making their nests.