Cotton is the fruit of a plant whose seeds are covered by a white fuzz.
Cotton is the name given to various species of the genus Gossypium , which belong to the Malvaceae family group. These are plants with green stems that, when producing yellowish flowers, turn reddish. Its main peculiarity is the fruit that has seeds covered by a white fuzz that, when the capsule is opened, comes out.
Before moving forward, it is interesting to note that the term cotton derives from the Arabic al-qutun , which refers to the plant that arrived in Andalusia in the 12th century .
Use of cotton lint
Cotton lint is used to make a very popular textile fiber . Furthermore, after a cleaning and sterilization process, it is marketed in different formats for multiple uses.
About half of the fibers used in the textile industry are cotton. All types of clothing are made with cotton: t-shirts, shirts, pants, etc. For example: "Yesterday I bought a cotton blouse with an animal print that I plan to wear on my birthday," "During the ceremony, the actor wore green pants and a very casual cotton sweater," "The model impressed with her sensual cotton t-shirt .
Numerous textile products are made with cotton.
Its importance in medicine and nursing
Cotton is used for various purposes in medicine and nursing . It is common to take pieces of cotton to clean a wound.
Cotton can also be used to soak it with a substance for medicinal use (such as alcohol or hydrogen peroxide) and then apply it to the skin .
Other interesting facts about cotton
It must be said that cotton has played a very important role in history. We cannot forget that, for example, crops became the focus of slavery in the United States during the 19th century . There were many families who, thanks to the land they owned where this plant was grown, managed to become rich and they did so because the work of harvesting it was entrusted to slaves, people of color who were mistreated and kept in terrible working conditions.
It should be noted that there is transgenic cotton , generated by the alteration of seeds in laboratories. In this way you can obtain cotton of different colors or plants that better resist the attack of pests or the action of agrochemical products.
a treat
We cannot ignore the existence of what is known as cotton candy . This candy is very popular all over the world and is identified by being threads of melted sugar that are twisted around a stick and are called cotton because it resembles the plant's lint.
This product, which is so common at fairs, began to be made in Italy in the 15th century . However, it was at the end of the 19th century when inventors who were also candy manufacturers managed to shape the first machine capable of preparing cotton candy.