Abstract: The characteristics of stem and leaf epidermal hairs in 22 wild species and 3 cultivated varieties of Gossypium studied under scanning electron microscope showed that the epidermal hairs of Gossypium can be classified into hairs and glandular hairs and the former can be further typified into monohairs and multiple hairs. Both monohairs and multiple hairs are needle shaped while glandular hairs are capitated and rod-like. Some species even showed a few chrysanthemum-like multiple hairs. These observations indicate that the epidermal hairs in Gossypium are specific. The relationships between the characteristics of multiple hairs and their resistance to insect and drought were studied through analysis of ecological and morphological structure correlations in Gossypium.

Key words: Gossypium, Epidermal hair