Cotton

Gossypium hirsutum
Cotton – an annual herb or shrub 2 – 5 feet tall. Grayish-green alternate leaves, 2 – 6 inches long, are usually three-lobed. Cup-shaped flowers of cotton have large, showy, creamy white to yellow petals with a purple or red spot near the base. The fruit capsules (the boll) contain seeds covered with white hairs (the cotton fiber). Cotton produces flowers and fruit throughout most of the year.

Fiber

Fiber is divided into two general categories-water soluble and water insoluble. Soluble fiber lowers cholesterol. For unknown reasons, however, diets higher in insoluble fiber appear to correlate better with protection against heart disease.