Nicotiana alata
Link & Otto
Solanaceae
Nicotiana affinis Moore
Nicotiana persica Lindl.
Common Name: Sweet Tobacco
General Information
Sweet tobacco is an erect, herbaceous perennial plant growing up to 90cm tall.
Widely grown as an ornamental plant for its sweet-smelling flowers, it has also occasionally been cultivated, especially in Iran and Brazil, for the production of smoking tobacco[
].
Known Hazards
The plant contains the toxic alkaloid nicotine. Widely used in all parts of the world as a stimulant, usually by smoking the plant or chewing it, in larger doses nicotine causes vomiting, diarrhoea, slow pulse, dizziness, collapse, and respiratory failure[
293- Title
- Poisonous Plants of North Carolina
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/poison.htm
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An excellent concise but comprehensive guide to toxic plants that grow in N. Carolina. It lists even those plants that are of very low toxicity, including several well-known food plants such as carrots and potatoes.
].
Botanical References
200- Title
- The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Huxley. A.
- Publisher
- MacMillan Press
- Year
- 1992
- ISBN
- 0-333-47494-5
- Description
- Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
Range
Southern S. America - Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil.
Habitat
Not known
Properties
| Edibility Rating |  |
| Habit | Perennial |
| Height | 0.75 m |
| Pollinators | Bees, lepidoptera |
| Cultivation Status | Cultivated, Ornamental |
Cultivation Details
A plant mainly of the subtropics, it can also be grown in tropical areas, though it requires more than 14 hours daylight per day to induce flowering[
169- Title
- A Weavers Garden
- Publication
-
- Author
- Buchanan. R.
- Publisher
- McGraw-Hill Contemporary
- Year
- 1987
- ISBN
- 0934026289
- Description
- Covers all aspects of growing your own clothes, from fibre plants to dyes.
].
Prefers a well-drained deep rich moist soil in a sunny position or light shade[
1- Title
- RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956
- Publication
-
- Author
- F. Chittendon.
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Year
- 1951
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
,
108- Title
- Garden Plants Valuable to Bees.
- Publication
-
- Author
- International Bee Research Association.
- Publisher
- International Bee Research Association.
- Year
- 1981
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- The title says it all.
,
352- Title
- KemperCentreForHomeGardeningPlantFinder
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/
- Publisher
- Missouri Botanical Garden
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Basic cultivation details, plant uses, habitat etc for several thousand species of plants, mainly from the temperate zone.
].
A very ornamental plant[
1- Title
- RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956
- Publication
-
- Author
- F. Chittendon.
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Year
- 1951
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
], it has sweetly scented flowers that release most of their scent in the evening and attract moths[
30- Title
- Butterflies and Moths in Britain and Europe.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Carter D.
- Publisher
- Pan
- Year
- 1982
- ISBN
- 0-330-26642-x
- Description
- An excellent book on Lepidoptera, it also lists their favourite food plants.
].
The plant is susceptible to viruses that are common to other cultivated members of the Solanaceae. It should not, therefore, be grown close to plants such as potatoes, tomatoes, aubergines, peppers, huckleberries etc[
352- Title
- KemperCentreForHomeGardeningPlantFinder
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/
- Publisher
- Missouri Botanical Garden
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Basic cultivation details, plant uses, habitat etc for several thousand species of plants, mainly from the temperate zone.
].
Edible Uses
The plant contains nicotine and is sometimes used for smoking and as a masticatory[
46- Title
- Dictionary of Economic Plants.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Uphof. J. C. Th.
- Publisher
- Weinheim
- Year
- 1959
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- 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.
]. Although used extensively for recreational purposes, tobacco frequently causes pathological conditions and death[
].
Medicinal
None known
Other Uses
All parts of the plant contain nicotine, this has been extracted and used as an insecticide.
Propagation
Seed - surface sown 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 when large enough.
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Useful Tropical Plants Database 2014 by
Ken Fern,
web interface by
Ajna Fern
with help from
Richard Morris.
