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 accepted and known species include:

Manmade hybrids

Formerly placed here

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 (mainly 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 (particularly the potato flea beetle (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, snuff, snus, etc. Both the grubs of Lasioderma serricorne and the caterpillars of Ephestia elutella are considered major pests. Other moths whose caterpillars feed on Nicotiana include: These are mainly Noctuidae, but they also comprise Sphingidae, Gelechiidae, and Crambidae.

Cultivation

Several species of Nicotiana, such as N. sylvestris, N. alata 'Lime Green' and N. langsdorffii are grown as ornamental plants, often under the name of flowering tobacco. They are popular vespertines (evening bloomers); their sweet-smelling flowers opening in the evening to be visited by hawkmoths and other pollinators. In temperate climates, they behave as annuals (hardiness 9a-11). The hybrid cultivar 'Lime Green' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Garden varieties are derived from N. alata (e.g., the 'Niki' and 'Saratoga' series) and more recently from Nicotiana × sanderae (e.g., the 'Perfume' and 'Domino' series). The tobacco budworm (Chloridea virescens) has proved to be a massive "pest" of many species in the genus, and has resisted many attempts at management.