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Nicotiana tabacum
| Common name: |
Tobacco |
Family: |
Solanaceae |
| Author: |
L. |
Botanical references: |
200 |
| Synonyms: |
|
| Known Hazards: |
All parts of the plant are poisonous[4, 19, 65, 76]. They contain a volatile oil called nicotine, this is a virulent poison that produces nausea, vomiting, sweating, palpitations and nausea[232]. |
| Range: |
S. America. Naturalized in C. and S. Europe. |
| Habitat: |
Not known in a truly wild situation. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
2 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 2 |
| Other Possible Synonyms: | From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Latakria tobacco[H]
N. chinensis[G]
N. tabacum var. macrophylla[G]
|
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Cultivated Tobacco [P,B], Herbe A La Reine [E], Jen Ts'Ao [E], Nicoziana [E], Punche [S], Tabac [E], Tabac Mannoque [E], Tabaco [E], Tabak [D], Tabigh [E], Tan Pa Ku [E], Tanigh [E], Tobacco [S,E,H], Toubac [E], Tutun [E], Yen Ken [E], Yen Ts'Ao [E], Yu Ts'Ao [E], |
| Systematics: | From a USDA Plants Database |
|
Order: Solanales. Potato family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
America
Belgium Brazil(Deni) Brazil(Jamamadi) Britain Canada(Kwakiutl) China Colombia Dominican Republic Ecuador(Jivaro) France Haiti Hawaii Indochina Iraq Italy Mexico Mexico(Kickapoo) Philippines(Ifugao) Sicily Spain Sudan Trinidad
|
Physical Characteristics
Annual growing to 1.2m. It is hardy to zone 8 and is frost tender. It is in flower from July to September, and the seeds ripen from August to October. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees and Lepidoptera (Moths & Butterflies).
It is noted for attracting wildlife.
We rate it 2/5 for edibility and
2/5 for medicinal use.
The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil.
The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils.
It cannot grow in the shade.
It requires moist soil.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Cultivated Beds.
Cultivar 'Monte Calme Yellow': Cultivated Beds.
Edible Uses
Egg
Leaves.
A protein can be extracted from the leaves. It is an odourless,
tasteless white powder and can be added to cereal grains, vegetables, soft
drinks and other foods[183]. It can be whipped like egg whites, liquefied or
gelled and can take on the flavour and texture of a variety of foods[183]. It
is 99.5% protein, contains no salt, fat or cholesterol[183]. It is currently
(1991) being tested as a low calorie substitute for mayonnaise and whipped
cream[183].
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Antispasmodic
Diuretic Emetic Expectorant Homeopathy Irritant Narcotic Sedative Sialagogue.
Tobacco has a long history of use by medical herbalists as a relaxant,
though since it is a highly additive drug it is seldom employed internally or
externally at present[4, 254].
The leaves are antispasmodic, discutient, diuretic, emetic, expectorant,
irritant, narcotic, sedative and sialagogue[4, 192, 213]. They are used
externally in the treatment of rheumatic swelling, skin diseases and scorpion
stings[240]. The plant should be used with great caution[4], when taken
internally it is an addictive narcotic[222]. The active ingredients can also
be absorbed through the skin[4].
Wet tobacco leaves can be applied to stings in order to relieve the
pain[213]. They are also a certain cure for painful piles[4].
A homeopathic remedy is made from the dried leaves[232]. It is used in the
treatment of nausea and travel sickness[232].
Other Uses
Insecticide
Oil Repellent.
All parts of the plant contain nicotine, this has been extracted and
used as an insecticide[20, 37, 46]. The dried leaves can also be used, they
remain effective for 6 months after drying[169]. The juice of the leaves can
be rubbed on the body as an insect repellent[213].
The leaves have been dried and chewed as an intoxicant. The dried leaves are
also used as snuff or smoked. This is the main species that is used to make
cigarettes and cigars.
A drying oil is obtained from the seed[57, 171].
Cultivation details
Prefers a well-drained deep rich moist soil in a sunny position[1,
200].
Plants are not very hardy in Britain, but they can be grown as biennials in
areas where winter temperatures do not fall below about -5° c[200].
A polymorphic species[50].
Tobacco is very widely cultivated for its leaves, there are many named
varieties[183]. As well as being used as an insecticide, the leaves are used
to make cigarettes, cigars, snuff and for chewing. There are many long-term
health problems associated with these uses, especially from cancer, lung,
circulatory and heart diseases.
The plant accumulates potassium[18].
The plant has sweetly scented flowers that release most of their scent in
the evening and attract moths[30].
Plant requires more than 14 hours daylight per day in order to induce
flowering[169].
Propagation
Seed - surface sow in a warm greenhouse about 10 weeks before the last
expected spring frosts. The seed usually germinates in 10 - 20 days at 20° c.
Keep the soil moist and pot up as soon as the plants are big enough to
handle, planting them out after the last expected frosts.
Scent
-
Flowers: Fresh
- The sweetly scented flowers release most of their scent in the evening and attract moths.
Cultivars
- 'Monte Calme Yellow'
- Cultivated for tobacco, this form has a rich flavour of high quality[183].
The plant grows up to 2.4 metres tall with leaves up to a metre long and 30mm wide[183]. Very productive, the plants are slightly tolerant of frosts[183].
Suppliers
For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.
Web References
- Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
- [H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
- [E] Ethnobotany Data
(common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
- [V] Images
from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A& M Bioinformatics Working Group.
- [W] Photos
(common names, range) from the University of Washington Medicinal Herb Garden.
- [B] Data
(Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
- [S] Illustration
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [G] Data
(Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
- [PHARM] Phytochemical Data
(common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
- [HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
References for nicotiana tabacum (a possible synonym).
References for the family Solanaceae.
See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.
Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.
[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
[18] Philbrick H. and Gregg R. B. Companion Plants. Watkins 1979
Details of beneficial and antagonistic relationships between neighbouring plants.
[19] Stary. F. Poisonous Plants. Hamlyn 1983 ISBN 0-600-35666-3
Not very comprehensive, but easy reading.
[20] Riotte. L. Companion Planting for Successful Gardening. Garden Way, Vermont, USA. 1978 ISBN 0-88266-064-0
Fairly good.
[30] Carter D. Butterflies and Moths in Britain and Europe. Pan 1982 ISBN 0-330-26642-x
An excellent book on Lepidoptera, it also lists their favourite food plants.
[37] Thompson. B. The Gardener's Assistant. Blackie and Son. 1878
Excellent general but extensive guide to gardening practices in the 19th century. A very good section on fruits and vegetables with many little known species.
[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.
[57] Schery. R. W. Plants for Man.
Fairly readable but not very comprehensive. Deals with plants from around the world.
[65] Frohne. D. and Pfänder. J. A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Wolfe 1984 ISBN 0723408394
Brilliant. Goes into technical details but in a very readable way. The best work on the subject that I've come across so far.
[76] Cooper. M. and Johnson. A. Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. HMSO 1984 ISBN 0112425291
Concentrates mainly on the effects of poisonous plants to livestock.
[169] Buchanan. R. A Weavers Garden.
Covers all aspects of growing your own clothes, from fibre plants to dyes.
[171] Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.
[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
[192] Emboden. W. Narcotic Plants Studio Vista 1979 ISBN 0-289-70864-8
A lot of details about the history, chemistry and use of narcotic plants, including hallucinogens, stimulants, inebriants and hypnotics.
[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.
[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.
[232] Castro. M. The Complete Homeopathy Handbook. Macmillan. London. 1990 ISBN 0-333-55581-3
A concise beginner's guide to the subject. Very readable.
[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.
[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.
[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
Readers Comments
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Plant information taken from the
Plants For A Future -
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Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963 This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Nicotiana+tabacum
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