Common name: Tobacco
Nicotiana tabacum L. APNI* Description: Annual, or short-lived perennial shrub 1–3 m high; densely covered with viscid hairs.
Leaves mostly cauline; lamina large, to 50 cm long, elliptical or ovate to narrow-ovate; petiole winged, somewhat auriculate and decurrent onto the stem; upper leaves subsessile.
Inflorescence a dense panicle; calyx cylindrical to campanulate, 10–20 mm long; corolla greenish-white to pink, 35–55 mm long, the tube narrower than the throat, the lobes triangular, c. 5 mm long, acute to acuminate; filaments 25–40 mm long, inserted at the base of the tube, the upper 4 longer than the fifth.
Fruit an ellipsoid to ovoid capsule, 15–25 mm long.
Flowering: Spring.
Distribution and occurrence: Doubtfully naturalised on Lord Howe Island; may occasionally be naturalised in NSW. Native of South America.
NSW subdivisions: *CC, *CWS, *LHI
Other Australian states: *Qld *Vic.
Commercial tobacco plant. Cultivation, except where officially approved, is prohibited in Australia.
Text by Peter G. Wilson Taxon concept: Horton, J. Adelaide Bot Gard 3 (1981); Green, Fl Australia vol. 49 (1994).
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data ***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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