Cotton
Parts Usually Used
Inner bark of the root, seeds
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
Cotton is a biennial or triennial shrub that grows to about 5 feet high with woody roots and branches. The round, hairy, branching stems grow from a spindle-shaped root and bears hoary, palmate leaves with 5 pointed lobes. The flowers have 5 yellow petals, each with a purple spot near the bottom. The flower opens only for pollination; it withers after one day. The boll grows to golf ball size with a pointed tip, then the boll cracks and splits from the tip showing locks, or 8-10 seeds with fibers attached.
The fruit is a 3 or 5 celled capsule, each cell containing a seed buried in cotton fiber. The open dried boll which holds the fluffed-out cotton is called the burr.
Where Found
Native to Asia, cultivated in many parts of the world. In the United States, the southern portion of the country is more successful in growing cotton.
Medicinal Properties
Abortifacient, aphrodisiac, emmenagogue, parturient, oxytocic Seeds: mucilaginous
Biochemical Information
Resinous substance, phenolcarbonic acid, salicylic acid, betaine, sugar, essential oil
Legends, Myths and Stories
Economically, cotton is one of the most valuable plants. Cotton seeds and cotton seed meal are used for livestock feed and for making and scenting soap. Needless to say, cloth has been made from this plant since ancient times. Introduction of the cotton plant into China during the XI century, either by foreigners trading with the Chinese, or by Mongol conquerors of China. Cottonseed oil was formerly used in villages as food and for lamps.
Its taste is very unpleasant, which fact is due to the Chinese roasting the seeds before expressing the oil. They used the cotton plant medicinally to treat leprous, scabrous, and other forms of skin diseases.
Uses
Historical herbalists used a tincture of the fresh inner root bark for amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, and internal bleeding, and it was once employed as a substitute for ergot to promote menstrual flow. The seeds were traditionally administered to encourage lactation, to soothe coughs, and were investigated for their effects on male fertility, an observation traditionally associated with Chinese dietary use of the oil.
Herbalists also prepared an extract of the crushed leaves for diarrhea, dysentery, piles, and gravel. Externally, the plant was applied as a dressing for rheumatism, freckles, neuralgia, headaches, sores, swellings, and wounds.
How Sold
Cottonseed oil and meal
Warning
Avoid during pregnancy since it is a uterine stimulant. May want to take it during labor and delivery. Do not use without medical supervision.
Bibliography
American Folk Medicine , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1973 Chinese Medicinal Herbs , compiled by Shih-Chen Li, Georgetown Press, San Francisco, California, 1973. The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974. Indian Herbalogy of North America , by Alma R. , Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes.
, Copyright 1988, published 1992 The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine , by Dr. David Frawley & Dr. Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Second edition, 1988. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023