Nicotiana tabacum
Nicotiana rustica
cultivated tobacco
Aztec tobacco, wild tobacco
single, usually unbranched, woody at base (hollow), 10–30 dm, viscid-pubescent.
single or less often with weak lateral branches, 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 much shorter than blade, not winged;
blade ovate, elliptic, or sometime lanceolate near inflorescence, (7.5–)10–15 cm, base often oblique, apex acute to rounded, surfaces viscid-pubescent, not glaucous.
branched with distinct central axis (branches themselves branched and shorter than central axis), usually somewhat leafy; flowering diurnal.
branched with distinct central axis, usually somewhat leafy; flowering diurnal.
(spreading), 0.5–1.5 cm.
0.3–0.5 cm (longer in fruit).
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 green, cylindric, 0.8–1.5 cm, viscid, lobes erect, broadly triangular, acute, ± equaling tube, 1 much longer than others;
corolla straight, 1.2–1.7 cm (excluding limb), puberulent externally, tube yellow to greenish yellow, broadly obconic with slight constriction at mouth, 0.3 cm × 2 mm, widening to throat 10 × 6–8 mm, glabrous or minutely puberulent internally, limb spreading to slightly reflexed, yellowish green, pentagonal, 0.6–0.9 cm diam., lobes greenish yellow, apiculate, equal, very short;
stamens inserted at base of throat, included;
filaments unequal, 4 sigmoid, 1.2–1.6 cm, extending to corolla mouth, 1 shorter, ca. 1.1 cm, all cottony-pubescent at base;
style straight or slightly curved, equaling or slightly exceeding longer 4 stamens.
often tearing at sinuses (especially in cultivars), covering 1/2 mature capsule.
not markedly tearing at sinuses, almost covering capsule.
narrowly ellipsoid, ovoid, or globose, 1.2–2 cm.
ellipsoid-ovoid to subglobose, 0.7–1.6 cm.
0.5 mm.
0.7–1.1 mm.
= 48.
= 48.
Nicotiana tabacum
Nicotiana rustica
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 rustica is one of the two commercially cultivated species of tobacco and was likely the dominant species on the east coast of North America before the introduction of N. tabacum by European settlers. It has been recorded as the so-called sacred Indian tobacco of the Iroquois nation and the authentic pre-settlement stock of the Onondagas. It is usually found in cultivation, often associated with towns and villages of Native American peoples and it can be difficult to tell from herbarium labels (unless specified) if plants are spontaneous or specifically cultivated. There are a number of apparently wild-collected specimens of N. rustica from the late 19th and early 20th centuries that are not obviously labeled as cultivated (for example, from New Mexico in association with pueblos); N. rustica could easily escape anywhere it is cultivated, but probably does not persist. Most records from more northern latitudes (for example, Massachusetts) are historical specimens taken from rubbish heaps or dumps.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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