What is the scientific name for cotton plant?

The scientific name for the cotton plant is Gossypium. The two main U.S. varieties are Upland cotton, known as Gossypium hirsutum, and Pima cotton, known as Gossypium barbadense.

Cotton grows in the lowers portion of the United States and in California, a stretch of 17 states known as the Cotton Belt. In addition to the United States, the major producers of cotton are China, India and Uzbekistan, as of 2014. Cotton and its byproducts appear in many products, including insulation, linoleum and some plastics. Cows consume the hulls left from cotton seeds, and cotton seed oil is an ingredient in some cosmetics.