On Monday, driving through Suffolk, Va,  I couldn't resist stopping and taking these pictures of cotton.

 

Ever seen cotton growing?  From the highway, at 45 mph (OK, 60)  it looks like snow has fallen on the fields.  Up close, it looks like this:  fluffy, soft balls of white cotton fiber bursting out of a stiff brown capsule.  Like giant kernels of popped popcorn.  The fiber protects the seeds, and actually helps disperse them (much like dandelion seeds.)

 

For my curious horticulture friends, cotton is in the Mallow family, of the genus and species:  Gossypium hirsutum. Other plants in the Mallow family are Marsh mallow and Hibiscus.  The relationship is more obvious in the flowers;  hibiscus flowers and cotton blossoms are very similar. 

 

Cotton has been cultivated for thousands of years, used for its fiber, and its medicinal value.  Today, the seeds are also used in the production of oil for shortening, margarine, and cooking and salad oils.  

 

Cotton is widely grown around the world in subtropical and tropical areas.  China, India, and Mexico are the biggest producers, but cotton is also a major crop in Southeastern Va and NC.  There are miles and miles of cotton, soybean, and peanut fields.  They look very much alike as they grow.....until this happens.  Then "snow" only falls on the cotton fields.  It's really pretty!  Worth stopping to take pictures.