Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

Gossypium darwinii G. Watt

algodoncillo, algodón de Darwin, Darwin´s cotton

Gossypium darwinii, dry zone, San Cristóbal Island, Galápagos. Photo: Frank Bungartz, CDF, 2007.
Gossypium darwinii, dry zone, San Cristóbal Island, Galápagos. Photo: Frank Bungartz, CDF, 2007.

A messy shrub with hand-shaped leaves on reddish stems. The large yellow flowers with blood red spots in the centre are similar to a hibiscus and are present all year round. The fruits are covered in a cottony fluff.

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Plantae

Phylum
Magnoliophyta

Class
Magnoliopsida (= Dicotyledoneae)

Order
Malvales

Family
Malvaceae

Genus
Gossypium

Species
darwinii

Taxon category: Accepted

Syn.: Gossypium barbadense var. darwinii (G. Watt) J.B. Hutch. Fryxell (1992) as Gossypium barbadense ssp. darwinii (G. Watt) Mauer and Gossypium barbadense f. darwinii (G. Watt) Roberty

Origin: Endemic

Status

Least concern

Distribution

Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.

References

  • Abbott, I. Abbott, L.K. (1973) New distribution records of 65 plant species within the Galapagos Archipelago. Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS), unpublished.
  • Adsersen, H. (s.a.) Field notes, 1974 and 1977 collections Charles darwin Research Station, unpublished Manuscript.
  • Atkinson, R. Guézou, A. & Jaramillo, P. (2009) Siémbrame en tu jardín - Plantas nativas para jardines en Galápagos. Fundación Charles Darwin, Puerto Ayora, Galápagos, Ecuador, 151 pp.
  • Fosberg, F. R. (1987) Vegetación inalterada en Fernandina, 1964 Memorias. Investigación Botánica y Manejo en Galápagos. Pg. 66-74
  • Fryxell, P.A. (1992) 118. Malvaceae. Flora del Ecuador 44: 1–141.
  • Jaramillo, P. (1998) Distribución Espacial de la Vegetación Vascular y Dispersión de Especies Introducidas dentro del Parque Nacional Galápagos. Tesis de Doctorado en Biología, Universidad Central del Ecuador. Especialización ECOLOGIA DE POBLACIONES.
  • Jørgensen, P.M. León-Yánez, S. (eds.) (1999) Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Ecuador. Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden 75. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, 1181 pp.
  • McMullen, C.K. (1999) Flowering plants of the Galapagos. Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London, 370 pp.
  • Restrepo, A. Bush, M., Correa-Metrio, A., Conroy, J., Gardener, M. R., Jaramillo, P., Steinitz-Kannan, M., Overpeck, J. & Colinvaux, P. (2011) Impacts of climate variability and human colonization on the vegetation of the Galápagos Islands. Ecology: 1-42.
  • Riley, L.A.M. (1925) Critical Notes on Galápagos Plants (St. George Pacific Expedition, 1924). Kew Bull. Misc. Info. 1925(5): 216-231.
  • Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Missouri Botanical Garden (eds.) (2013) The Plant List, Version 1.1. Published on the Internet; http://www.theplantlist.org/ (accessed 1st January).
  • Schofield, E.K. (1984) Plants of the Galapagos Islands. Field Guide and Travel Journal. Universe Books, New York, 159 pp.
  • Schönitzer, K. (1975) Galápagos Plants. Privately Published, Quito: 1-43.
  • Svenson, H.K. (1935) Plants of the Astor Expedition, 1930 (Galapagos and Cocos Islands). Am. J. Bot. 22: 208-277.
  • Tropicos.org. (2017) Database of Missouri Botanical Garden. Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 06 Oct 2017 <http://www.tropicos.org
  • Valencia, R. Pitman, N., León-Yánez, S. & Jørgensen, P.M. (2000) Libro Rojo de las Plantas Endémicas del Ecuador. Herbario QCA, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador. Ecuador 2000 i–iv, 1–489.
  • Weeks, A. Tye, A. (2009) Phylogeography of palo santo trees (Bursera graveolens and Brusera malacophylla; Burseraceae) in the Galápagos archipielago Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 161, 396-410.
  • Wiggins, I.L. Porter, D.M. (1971) Flora of the Galapagos Islands Standford University Press, Stanford.

You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.

This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Gossypium darwinii", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=573. Accessed 12 May 2026.