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Nicotiana tabacum - L.

Tobacco

Author	L.	Botanical references	200
Family	Solanaceae	Genus	Nicotiana
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	2 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	2 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 1.2m.

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;

Cultivars: (as above except)
'Monte Calme Yellow'

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Leaves.

Edible Uses: Egg.

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

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; 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].

Scented Plants

Flowers: Fresh

The sweetly scented flowers release most of their scent in the evening and attract moths.

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.

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].

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]).

[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. 0
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. 0
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.

[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

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 tabacum

haroon Wed Nov 3 15:03:49 2004

Link: neuroscience for kids-nicotine-

Nicotiana tabacum

anna smith Mon Apr 10 2006

U suck balls

Nicotiana tabacum

g.sivakumar Mon Dec 11 2006

details are far good but also i would like to know about how to use the plants to use in control for spider mites.

Nicotiana tabacum

Tobacco Man Mon Apr 27 2009

I Really adore this plant. What could possibly be more beautiful than a giant flowering nicotiana tabacum?

Nicotiana tabacum

Sat Oct 10 2009

I'm not encouraging using it in the manner, but tobacco has historic use as an anthelmintic (kills worms) & purgative, in particular for horses and cattle.

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