Nicotiana rustica

Herbs, annual or occasionally perennial, coarse and robust, without basal rosette. Stems single or less often with weak lateral branches, 5–20 dm, viscid-pubescent. Cauline leaves: 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. Inflorescences branched with distinct central axis, usually somewhat leafy; flowering diurnal. Pedicels 0.3–0.5 cm (longer in fruit). Flowers: 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. Capsules ellipsoid-ovoid to subglobose, 0.7–1.6 cm. Fruiting calyces not markedly tearing at sinuses, almost covering capsule. Seeds 0.7–1.1 mm. 2n = 48.

Phenology: Flowering year-round.
Habitat: Disturbed areas, field edges, roadsides, escaped from cultivation.
Elevation: 0–1000 m.

B.C., Ont., Ill., Md., Mass., N.Y., Oreg., Tex., South America (Bolivia, Peru)

Discussion

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.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa