cotton tree

I was visiting my parents in Hawaii last week.  We were outside in the yard when my Mom told me to "Go across the street and pick some cotton."  Well sure enough, there was a cotton tree that was full of cotton balls.  I picked a handful and here is a picture of it....

 This is the first time I have ever handled raw cotton.  It was full of leaves and twigs and mostly tiny black seeds.  To separate the seeds from the cotton, you have to literally pick pick pick at the cotton.  What a time consuming, labor intensive work.  I thought about bringing it back home to the mainland, but decided to leave it with my Mom.  I didn't want to get stopped by the Agriculture scanner at the airport.  Here is my ten cents worth of cotton after an hours work of separating.