Gossypium stocksii Mast.

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Cotton

In Omani studies: Miller & Morris (1988) wrote that: "This small wild cotton which produces a very short stapled fibre grows plentifully in the coastal plains and foothills of Dhofar, but where it grows in wetter areas, it is said to produce no 'cotton'. It was the cottony fibre that was used locally - in much the way cotton wool is now - small pieces being soaked with medicinal oils and pastes and inserted into a painful or blocked ear, a cavity in an aching tooth, into a wound to dry it out or cleanse it, and so. Cotton was formerly widely cultivated on the Salalah plain, and as long as this was the case, the fibre of the larger balls of cotton produced by these cultivated bushes was preferred, but many throughout Dhofar had to make do with the rather inferior cotton of this wild species. Small pieces of ... cotton were saturated with perfumed oils and tucked into the little fold of the upper ear, or sewn into the bodice of the dress, or inserted into the plaited end of the leather hair fillet worn by men. The cotton fluff itself was called in J: osor and in DA: kutn, the name J: ġόzel or jíbún referring to the whole plant. The cultivated cotton bush was called in J: uteb, (the same name as that for Calotropis procera). In DA, kutn was used for both the cotton fibre and the bush. Cotton fiber was also twisted into threads as wicks [J: fetilt] for the oil lamps [J: mesredet] which in earlier years provided the only form of lighting apart from firelight. Such wicks were also made from threads pulled from the cotton material of which most clothing was made formerly, and could be expected to last for three or four days at least. The wick for cupping was also made from twisted strands of cotton fiber: an upturned glass or clay bowl - whose mouth had been covered with a fine piece of leather with a hole in the middle through which the cotton twist was introduced and set alight - was put in place over the organ causing pain and left there until the flame was extinguished, the vacuum broken and the container fell off. This treatment was usually reserved for the treatment of liver, spleen and kidney complaints. In the north of Oman, the cotton plant appears in remedies for toothache and earache, and a decoction of the plant was mixed with ghee and taken to treat shortness of breath. It was also one of the ingredients in remedy given to treat fits". (Ref. Plants of Dhofar). In addition, Ghazanfar (2003) mentioned that: "The cotton on the seeds was used in Dhofar as cotton wool, soaked in medicinal oils and pastes or twisted and used as lamp wicks". (Ref. Flora of Oman, vol. 1).

*Ghazanfar, S. (2003). Flora of the Sultanate of Oman, vol.1: Piperaceae – Primulaceae. Meise, National Botanic Garden of Belgium (Scripta Botanica Begica, Vol. 25). ISBN 90-72619-55-2 ISSN 0779-2387. *https://en.wikipedia.org * http://pza.sanbi.org *Miller, A., Morris, M. (1988). Plants of Dhofar, the Southern Region of Oman: Traditional, Economic, and Medicinal Uses. Published by Office of the Adviser for Conservation of the Environment, Diwan of Royal Court, Sultanate of Oman; ISBN 10: 0715708082 ISSN 13: 9780715708088. *Pickering, H. Patzelt, A. (2008). Field Guide to the Wild Plants of Oman. Kew publishing, Royal Botanic Garden, Kew. ISBN 9781842461778. *Hammer, K. Gebauer, J. Al Khanjari, S. Buerkert, A. (2009). Oman at the cross-roads of inter-regional exchange of cultivated plants. Gene Resour Crop Evol (2009) 56:547-560. Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008. DOI 10.1007/s10722-008-9385-z. *POWO (2023). ""Plants of the World Online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet; http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org