Gossypium herbaceum subsp. africanum flower

The yellow to pale yellow flowers of Gossypium herbaceum subsp. africanum have maroon centres. The five broadly obovate, round-tipped petals overlap, one margin inside the wide funnel-shaped cup, the other outside, creating a rotational effect.

The staminal tube in the flower centre is much shorter than the petals. It is densely covered in horseshoe-shaped anthers. The ring of five locules comprising the ovary contain several ovules each. The style is short and undivided. The stigma is club-shaped.

Flowering happens throughout the year (Pooley, 1998; Onderstall, 1996; Letty, 1962; iSpot; Mannheimer and Curtis, (Eds.), 2009; Leistner, (Ed.), 2000).