Landscape Uses:
	It is currently ILLEGAL to grow wild cotton in Florida (see commments below).
Ecological Restoration Notes:
Availability:
Description:
	Medium to large shrub with wide-spreading branches and a broadly rounded crown. Leaves lobed, 2-6 inches long.
Height:
	About 6-12 feet in height. As broad as tall or broader.
Growth Rate:
	Moderate.
Range:
	Monroe County Keys north to Palm Beach and Pinellas counties; West Indies, Mexico, Central America and South America. Perhaps never present or extirpated in Broward County.
Habitats:
	Coastal hammocks and thickets.
Soils:
	Moist, well-drained limestone or sandy soils, with or without humusy top layer.
Nutritional Requirements:
	Moderate; can grow in nutrient poor soils, but needs some organic content to thrive.
Salt Water Tolerance:
	Low; does not tolerate long-term flooding by salt or brackish water.
Salt Wind Tolerance:
	Moderate; grows near salt water, but is protected from direct salt spray by other vegetation.
Drought Tolerance:
	Moderate to high; plants growing in extremely dry soils may die during extended periods of drought.
Light Requirements:
	Full sun to light shade.
Flower Color:
	Creamy white to pale yellow, usually with a red spot at the base of the petals, turning dark pink with age.
Flower Characteristics:
	Showy, about 1-2" wide.
Flowering Season:
	All year.
Fruit:
	Triangular capsule that opens exposing cotton seed covering.
Wildlife and Ecology:
	Larval host plant for gray hairstreak (Strymon melinus) butterflies.
Horticultural Notes:
	Can be grown from seed.
Comments:
	It is related to commercial cotton, and the USDA attempted to wipe this plant out in Florida in the early 1900s due to the fact that it is a potential host to the boll weevil. It is now illegal to grow wild cotton in Florida for this reason. It is also listed as endangered by the state of Florida.