Nicotiana
(named after Jean Nicot, 1530-1600, of Nismes in Languedoc; he was agent from the King of France to Portugal, and introduced tobacco into France). Tobacco. ORD. Solanaceae. An extensive genus (upwards of fifty species have been described, of which probably not more than thirty-five are distinct) of mostly greenhouse or half-hardy herbs, sometimes suffruticose, rarely glabrous, sub-arborescent shrubs; they are mostly natives of America, a few are indigenous to the Pacific Islands and Australasia, and some are not unfrequently cultivated in various parts of the globe. Flowers white, yellowish, greenish, or purplish, disposed in terminal panicles, or in elongated, unilateral, bracteate or ebracteate racemes, or the lower ones solitary in the axils; calyx five-cleft; corolla funnel- or salver-shaped, sometimes with a very long tube, the limb five-lobed. Leaves undivided, entire or rarely sinuated. Nicotianas thrive best in rich, deep soil, and in a rather moist situation, where they will grow with great rapidity. Seeds should be sown in February, in gentle heat, and the young plants pricked out when large enough. They should be placed in the open air early in June. The species are employed with great advantage in sub-tropical gardening. N. affinis succeeds admirably and flowers freely in 6in. pots, and thus forms a useful subject for greenhouse decoration. Its flowers are partially closed by day, but open at about 6 p.m., and emit a powerful perfume in the evening and night. It is also suited, on this latter account, for planting, in the summer time, in beds that are situated near walks.
N. acuminata. (taper-pointed). fl., corolla green-lined, about 3in. long; limb spreading; panicles few-flowered. Summer. l. broad-lanceolate, acuminate, undulated, stalked, entire, sometimes sub-cordate. Stem branched. h. 3ft. Valparaiso, &c. Herb. (B. M. 2919.) SYN. Petunia acuminata. N. acutiflora (acute-flowered).* fl., corolla pure white, 4in. long, cylindrical; lobes acute; calyx pubescent, about 3/4in. long. From June until frost. l. radical ones oblong; upper ones distant, auriculate at base. Stem erect, 1ft. to 2ft. high. Brazil. A handsome annual herb, well suited for decorative purposes.
N. affinis (related).* fl. deliciously night-scented; corolla with a slender tube 3in. to 3 1/2in. long; limb 3in. across, consisting of five ovate, blunt segments, white inside, greenish outside. l., lower ones numerous, about 6in. long, ovate, obtuse, narrowed into a winged petiole; upper ones smaller, more decidedly amplexicaul, broad. h. 2ft. to 3ft. Half-hardy annual herb. A splendid conservatory plant, hairy all over, except the inside of the corolla. (G. C. n. s., xvi. 141.) N. fragrans (fragrant). fl. almost white, large, terminal, pendent, very fragrant; corolla with a very long tube and a broad limb; panicle large, terminal, the branches bearing glomerated racemes. Summer. l., radical ones large, broadly ovate, spathulate; cauline ones few, distant, linear-spathulate, thick and fleshy. h. 3ft. to 4ft. Isle of Pines. Plant hairy, except inside of corolla limb. Cool greenhouse herb. (B. M. 4865.) N. glauca. (glaucous).* fl. yellow, covered with soft down; corolla having the tube slightly curved, the throat slightly inflated, the mouth contracted, the limb small, cup-shaped, with short acute segments; panicles terminal. August to October. l. unequally cordate-ovate, naked. h. 10ft. to 20ft. Buenos Ayres, 1827. Shrub, glaucous in every part, arboreous, erect, branched. (B. M. 2837.) N. Langsdorffii (Langsdorff's). fl. paniculate, nodding, subsecund; corolla green or yellowish-green; tube 1in. long, limb sub-plicate; peduncles very long, branched. August. l., lower ones ovate, obtuse, attenuated to the petioles, undulated; upper ones lanceolate, acute, sessile, decurrent. Stem branched, 5ft. high. Brazil, 1819. Herb. (B. M. 2221, 2555.) N. longiflora (long-flowered).* fl. lateral, solitary, pedicellate, often opposite the leaves, in terminal simple racemes; corolla white at first, afterwards purple or yellowish-green; limb white inside. August. l., radical ones ovate-lanceolate, acute; cauline ones cordate-lanceolate, acuminate. h. 3ft. Buenos Ayres, 1832. Herb. (S. B. F. G. ser. ii. 196.) N. noctiflora (night-flowering). fl. white, purplish beneath, odorous at night; corolla tube thrice as long as the calyx. August. l. petiolate, oblong-lanceolate, acute, undulate-crisped. Stem 2ft. to 3ft. high. Chili, 1826. Herb. (B. M. 2785; S. B. F. G. 262.) N. persica (Persian). fl. in extra-axillary, shortly pedicellate racemes; corolla white within, green without; tube 2 1/2in. long. August. l., radical ones oblong-spathulate, acute, cordate at base; cauline ones sessile. h. 3ft. Persia (cultivated), 1831. This herb yields the celebrated Shiraz tobacco. (B. R. 1592.) N. suaveolens (sweet-scented).* fl. white, disposed in loose panicles, fragrant; tube of corolla cylindrical. Summer. l. subpetiolate, ovate-lanceolate, undulate. Stem nearly simple. h. 1ft. to 2ft. Australia, 1800. Herb. (B. M. 673, under name of N. undulata.) N. Tabacum.* Common Tobacco. fl. rose, downy outside; corolla inflated, ventricose; segments of the limb acuminated; racemes short, many-flowered. Summer. l. sessile, oblong-lanceolate, acuminated. h. 4ft. America, 1570. Plant downy, clammy. Herb. (B. M. Pl. 191.) N. T. fruticosa (shrubby). "This variety differs from the type only in the shrubby base of its stem and its narrower leaves" (Hooker). (B. M. 6207.) N. undulata (wavy-leaved). A synonym of N. suaveolens. N. wigandioides (Wigandia-like).* fl. yellowish-white, in large drooping panicles; corolla hypocrateriform. l. large, ovate-acuminate, pilose. Columbia. Greenhouse shrub, well adapted for sub-tropical gardening. (B. H. 1873, 18.)