Nicotiana tabacum
Nicotiana acuminata
cultivated tobacco
many-flower tobacco, manyflower
single, usually unbranched, woody at base (hollow), 10–30 dm, viscid-pubescent.
branched from base (proximal branches longer), 5–20 dm, viscid-pubescent.
sessile;
blade elliptic to lanceolate, 5–50 cm, becoming smaller distally, base tapering or decurrent, apex acute to acuminate, surfaces viscid-pubescent.
petiole length 1/3–1/6 blade;
blade elliptic to lanceolate, becoming very narrow near inflorescence, 10–25 cm, apex acuminate, surfaces viscid-pubescent, somewhat scabrous adaxially.
branched with distinct central axis (branches themselves branched and shorter than central axis), usually somewhat leafy; flowering diurnal.
few-branched, somewhat leafy; flowering crepuscular.
(spreading), 0.5–1.5 cm.
0.5–2 cm.
calyx uniformly green, 1.2–2.5 cm, viscid-pubescent, lobes long-triangular, equaling or shorter than tube, unequal;
corolla straight or strongly curved in distal 1/2, 3–5 cm (excluding limb), viscid-puberulent externally, tube pale greenish cream to pink or red, slightly curved or straight, 0.7–1.5 cm × 2–2.5 mm, widening to throat 25–40 × 5 mm, somewhat dilated distally, glabrous or minutely puberulent internally, limb spreading to somewhat reflexed, pale pink to reddish pink, occasionally white, pentagonal, 2–3 cm diam., lobes pale pink to reddish pink, occasionally white, acute;
stamens inserted near base of throat;
filaments unequal, 4 slightly exserted, 3–5 cm, 1 included, 3 cm (shorter than the other 4), pubescent on proximal 1/2;
style straight or slightly curved, ± equaling longer stamens.
calyx strongly purple-veined, 1–2 cm, membranous, viscid-pubescent (hairs without swollen bases), lobes long-triangular, unequal, longest equaling tube;
corolla straight, 2.5–10 cm (excluding limb), viscid-puberulent externally, tube white or white tinged with greenish purple, sometimes striped, 0.8–4 cm × 2–3 mm, widening to throat 1–4 × 5 mm, glabrous or minutely puberulent internally, limb spreading, white, circular, 2–4 cm diam., lobes shallow, deltate or emarginate;
stamens inserted near base of throat, included;
filaments unequal, in 2 equal or unequal pairs, 4 cm, 1 filament shorter than either pair, pubescent proximally;
style straight, just surpassing longest stamen pair.
often tearing at sinuses (especially in cultivars), covering 1/2 mature capsule.
tearing along membranous sinuses, covering ca. 1/2 of mature capsule.
narrowly ellipsoid, ovoid, or globose, 1.2–2 cm.
broadly ovoid, 1–1.2 cm.
0.5 mm.
0.9–1 mm.
leaves: petiole length equaling blade;
blade ovate or orbiculate, 6–12 cm, surfaces viscid-pubescent, somewhat scabrous adaxially.
= 48.
= 24.
Nicotiana tabacum
Nicotiana acuminata
Nicotiana tabacum is the principal tobacco of commerce and was the mainstay of the economy of the Chesapeake Bay region during Colonial times. It replaced N. rustica as the main cultivated species in North America in the early 1600s. Most herbarium specimens of N. tabacum come from gardens or research greenhouses, but it occasionally escapes and is an ephemeral weed where the climate is mild. Commercial tobacco cultivars are grown for their large leaves, and flowers are removed to allow further growth of top leaves before harvest, but if marginal individuals are not harvested and are collected, they could be mistaken for naturalized weeds. Nicotiana tabacum is widely cultivated across North America.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Nicotiana acuminata is native to Chile and is naturalized on the West Coast from Baja California to Washington. It is easy to confuse with the native N. attenuata but differs in its much longer corolla tube and usually emarginate limb. The flowers are often clustered near the tips of the few inflorescence branches. Plants from the western United States are often identified as var. multiflora.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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