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Nicotiana rustica - L.

Wild Tobacco

Author	L.	Botanical references	200
Family	Solanaceae	Genus	Nicotiana
Synonyms
Known Hazards	All parts of the plant are poisonous[200].
Range	S. America - Ecuador to Bolivia.
Habitat	The original habitat is obscure. Plants are naturalized in Eastern N. America where they grow in waste places, open areas etc[192].
Edibility Rating	0 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	2 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 1.5m.

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

Cultivated Beds;

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Antispasmodic; Emetic; Narcotic; Sedative.

All parts of the plant contain nicotine which is a strong narcotic[192]. The leaves are antispasmodic, cathartic, emetic, narcotic and sedative[240, 257]. They are used externally as a poultice and a wash in the treatment of rheumatic swelling, skin diseases and scorpion stings[240].

Other Uses

Insecticide.

All parts of the plant contain nicotine, this has been extracted and used as an insecticide. The dried leaves can also be used, they remain effective for 6 months after drying[169]. The leaves have also been dried and then chewed as a stimulant or made into snuff for sniffing, or smoked. This species is more potent than N. tabacum (the species normally cultivated for cigarettes).

Cultivation details

Prefers a well-drained deep rich moist soil in a sunny position[1, 200]. This plant was formerly cultivated for its use as an insecticide but it has now been largely replaced by N. tabacum[46, 50, 200]. Plants require 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.

Links

References

[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 Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[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.

[169] Buchanan. R. A Weavers Garden. 0
Covers all aspects of growing your own clothes, from fibre plants to dyes.

[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.

[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.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

Nicotiana rustica

Dr. Naveen Kumar (Plant Pathology) Thu Jul 20 2006

Nicotiana rustica is commercially grown in Gujarat state of India, and I consider that N. tabacum can not replace N. rustica under Indian conditions.

Nicotiana rustica

Badger Johnson Tue Feb 19 2008

i love this plant so much that i take it into my lungs and let the smoke carry me up to God. if you like tobacco, do yourself a favor and seek out rustica

J. L. Hudson, Seedsman A PUBLIC ACCESS SEED BANK

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