Nicotiana () is a genus of herbaceous plants and shrubs in the family Solanaceae, that is indigenous to the Americas, Australia, Southwestern Africa and the South Pacific. Various Nicotiana species, commonly referred to as tobacco plants, are cultivated as ornamental garden plants. N. tabacum is grown worldwide for the cultivation of tobacco leaves used for manufacturing and producing tobacco products, including cigars, cigarillos, cigarettes, chewing tobacco, dipping tobacco, snuff, and snus.
Taxonomy
Species
The 79 known species include:
Nicotiana acuminata (Graham) Hook. – manyflower tobacco
Nicotiana africana Merxm. Nicotiana alata Link & Otto – jasmine tobacco, sweet tobacco, winged tobacco, Persian tobacco, tanbaku (in Persian) Nicotiana attenuata Torrey ex S. Watson – coyote tobacco Nicotiana benthamiana Domin – benth, benthi Nicotiana clevelandii A. Gray – Cleveland's tobacco Nicotiana glauca Graham – tree tobacco, Brazilian tree tobacco, shrub tobacco, wild tobacco, tobacco plant, tobacco bush, tobacco tree, mustard tree Nicotiana glutinosa L. Nicotiana langsdorffii Weinm. – Langsdorff's tobacco Nicotiana longiflora Cav. – longflower tobacco or long-flowered tobacco Nicotiana occidentalis H.-M. Wheeler – native tobacco Nicotiana obtusifolia M. Martens & Galeotti – desert tobacco, punche, "tabaquillo" Nicotiana otophora Griseb. Nicotiana plumbaginifolia Viv. – Tex-Mex tobacco Nicotiana quadrivalvis Pursh – Indian tobacco Nicotiana rustica L. – Aztec tobacco, strong tobacco, mapacho Nicotiana suaveolens Lehm. – Australian tobacco Nicotiana sylvestris Speg. & Comes – woodland tobacco, flowering tobacco, South American tobacco Nicotiana tabacum L. – common tobacco, domesticated tobacco, cultivated tobacco, commercial tobacco (grown for the production of cigars, cigarillos, cigarettes, chewing tobacco, dipping tobacco, snuff, snus, etc.) Nicotiana tomentosiformis Goodsp.
Manmade hybrids
Nicotiana × didepta – N. debneyi × N. tabacum
Nicotiana × digluta – N. glutinosa × N. tabacum
Nicotiana × sanderae Hort. ex Wats. – N. alata × N. forgetiana
Formerly placed here
Petunia axillaris (Lam.) Britton et al. (as N. axillaris Lam.) – large white petunia, wild white petunia, white moon petunia
Etymology
The genus Nicotiana (from which the word nicotine is derived) was named in honor of Jean Nicot, French ambassador to Portugal, who in 1559 sent samples as a medicine to the court of Catherine de' Medici.
Ecology
Despite containing enough nicotine and/or other compounds such as germacrene and anabasine and other piperidine alkaloids (varying between species) to deter most herbivores, a number of such animals have evolved the ability to feed on Nicotiana species without being harmed. Nonetheless, tobacco is unpalatable to many species and therefore some tobacco plants (chiefly tree tobacco (N. glauca)) have become established as invasive species in some places.
In the 19th century, young tobacco plantings came under increasing attack from flea beetles (the potato flea bettle (Epitrix cucumeris) and/or Epitrix pubescens), causing the destruction of half the United States tobacco crop in 1876. In the years afterward, many experiments were attempted and discussed to control the potato flea beetle. By 1880, it was discovered that covering young plants with a frame covered with thin fabric (instead of with branches, as had previously been used for frost control) would effectively protect the plants from the beetle. This practice spread until it became ubiquitous in the 1890s.
Tobacco, alongside its related products, can be infested by parasites such as the tobacco beetle (Lasioderma serricorne) and the tobacco moth (Ephestia elutella), which are the most widespread and damaging pests in the tobacco industry. Infestation can range from the tobacco cultivated in the fields to the leaves used for manufacturing cigars, cigarillos, cigarettes, chewing tobacco, dipping tobacco, etc. Both the grubs of Lasioderma serricorne and the caterpillars of Ephestia elutella are considered major pests.