We're discussing some floral facts about the cotton plant today before a storm rolls in. Right now the plant is fruiting: the beautiful and transformative process in which the cotton plant creates the boll that will eventually open up to give us the fiber we know and love in the fall. 

Below are pictures of the stages:

  

1. A square is formed
2. The square blooms white petals
3. Within 24 hours the white petals turn pink
4. The pink petals turn red, wither, and fall off to reveal the fully formed cotton boll that will stay on the cotton plant until harvest in the fall