Nicotiana tabacum
Nicotiana attenuata
cultivated tobacco
coyote tobacco, wild tobacco
single, usually unbranched, woody at base (hollow), 10–30 dm, viscid-pubescent.
single or with few weak lateral branches, 5–20 dm, viscid-pubescent or glabrate with few hairs with swollen bases.
sessile;
blade elliptic to lanceolate, 5–50 cm, becoming smaller distally, base tapering or decurrent, apex acute to acuminate, surfaces viscid-pubescent.
petiole length to 1/2 blade, distal leaves sessile;
blade lanceolate to linear, progressively narrower distally, 2–8(–10.5) cm, apex acute to acuminate, surfaces viscid-pubescent or glabrate.
branched with distinct central axis (branches themselves branched and shorter than central axis), usually somewhat leafy; flowering diurnal.
unbranched or with few short lateral branches, somewhat leafy; flowering crepuscular (early morning).
(spreading), 0.5–1.5 cm.
0.2–0.4 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 uniformly green or with weakly developed veins, 0.6–1 cm, densely viscid-pubescent (hairs with swollen bases), lobes narrowly triangular, shorter than tube, unequal;
corolla straight, 2–3.5 cm (excluding limb), viscid-puberulent externally, tube creamy white or tinged with purple-green or gray-green, 0.5–0.7 cm × 1.5–2 mm, widening to throat 2–3 × 5 mm (asymmetrically dilated distally), glabrous or minutely puberulent within, limb spreading or slightly reflexed, white or cream, pentagonal to ± circular and often asymmetrically spreading, 0.4–0.8 cm diam., lobes shallow and rounded or obtuse, broadly triangular (proximal lobes reflexed);
stamens inserted near base of throat, included;
filaments unequal, 4 of 3 cm (2 of these slightly longer), 1 shorter, 1.5–2 cm, glabrous or minutely pubescent proximally;
style straight, just shorter than longest stamen pair.
often tearing at sinuses (especially in cultivars), covering 1/2 mature capsule.
not tearing at sinuses, covering to 1/2 of mature capsule.
narrowly ellipsoid, ovoid, or globose, 1.2–2 cm.
ovoid, 0.8–1.2 cm.
0.5 mm.
0.8 mm.
leaves: petiole length shorter than or almost equaling blade (2–3 cm);
blade elliptic or oblong-elliptic, 5–10 cm, surfaces viscid-pubescent.
= 48.
= 24.
Nicotiana tabacum
Nicotiana attenuata
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 attenuata is the most common species of the genus in the Great Basin, and often forms large colonies after fires and other disturbance. It has been the subject of intensive study over many years by the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology at the Lytle Ranch Preserve in southwestern Utah (for example, C. Diezel et al. 2011; D. Kessler et al. 2015). There are some records of its use by Native American peoples as a smoking or chewing tobacco; it has also been reported as a medicinal plant used by the Zuni people (M. C. Stevenson 1915). Nicotiana torreyana A. Nelson & J. F. Macbride is an illegitimate name that has been applied to this species.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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