Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple
fiber that grows in a
boll around the
seeds of the
cotton plant. The plant is a
shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the
Americas,
Pakistan,
India and
Africa. The fiber most often is spun into
yarn or thread and used to make a soft, breathable
textile, which is the most widely used natural-fiber cloth in
clothing today. The
English name derives from the
Arabic (al) qutn قُطْن , which began to be used circa 1400.
[1] The botanical purpose of cotton is to aid in seed-dispersal.