Duration: Perennial
Nativity: Native
Lifeform: Forb/Herb
General: Biennial to perenial herb, 20-90 cm tall, from a woody root; stems erect, branching or not; herbage viscid- (sticky-) pubescent throughout.
Leaves: Alternate along the stems, the upper leaves sessile and clasping and the lower leaves tapering to winged petioles; blades oblanceolate to spatulate, 5-15 cm long and 1-4 cm wide; upper leaves with auriculate-clasping bases (with ear-like lobes where the leaf clasps the stem).
Flowers: White and tube-shaped; arranged in loose panicles of racemes at the tops of stems; calyx ovoid, 7-10 mm long and 3-4 mm wide, topped with 5 erect to outward-curving triangular teeth, 3-5 mm long; corolla white, cream, or greenish, and tubular, 12-18 mm long, constricted at the orifice, and topped with 5 rounded spreading lobes, forming a limb 1 cm in diameter.
Fruits: Capsule ovoid, 8-11 mm long, surrounded by the persistent calyx; containing many tiny dark red-brown seeds.
Ecology: Found in canyons, at the base of rocky slopes, and along washes; below 6,000 ft (1829 m); flowers April-September, or throughout the year at lower elevations.
Distribution: s CA, s NV, s UT, AZ, NM, TX; south to s MEX.
Notes: This plant is covered with glandular hairs, making it sticky to the touch and giving it a pungent, bitter scent; the leaf bases clasp stems; it has a beautiful white to cream or green-tinged flowers; and the the calyx lobes either don't or barely surpass the capsule. This is desert tobacco and the leaves are mild and peppery when smoked.
Ethnobotany: Poultice of the leaves applied to cuts, bruises, swellings, and other wounds; smoke was blown into the ear to treat earaches; also used as chew, smoked, and used ceremonially.
Etymology: Nicotiana is named for Jean Nicot (1530-1600), the French ambassador to Portugal responsible for introducing tobacco to France in 1560; obtusifolia means obtuse or blunt leaved.
Synonyms: Nicotiana trigonophylla
Editor: SBuckley 2010, FSCoburn 2015, AHazelton 2017
