A genetic study of the "pendent fruit" character, carried out on varieties of the tetraploid species Gossypium hirsutum,revealed that its inheritance is determined by two pairs of factors, which came from the ancestors G. herbaceumand G. raimondii.Segregating hybrid populations obtained with "erect fruit" varieties showed that there is an interaction between chromosomes and cytoplasm interfering in the phenomenon. The quality of the cytoplasm in the "pendent fruit" phenotype was designated by À.The formulae PhPh and prpr are proposed for the ancestors G. herbaceumand G. raimondii,À, PhPhPrPr and (0), phphprpr for the pendent and erect fruit types of G. hirsutum,respectively. A cytogenetic mechanism is suggested to explain the inheritance of the character.