Nicotiana tobacum is a herbaceous plant with large green leaves and long, trumpet-shaped, white-pinkish flowers. It is native to South and Central America and the Caribbean where the Arawak/Taino people were the first to use and to cultivate it. The leaves can grow up to 2 ft long and all parts of the plant are sticky and covered with short hairs that exude a yellow secretion containing nicotine. Nicotiana tobacum is an excellent hummingbird attractant that flowers up to 5-6 feet high with very long lasting beautiful flowers, bringing our pollinator friends up to eye level in the garden!
Found extensively in cultivation, this tobacco is the most commonly grown of all plants in the Nicotiana genus and the leaves are commercially grown in many countries to be processed for smoking tobacco. Historically, this plant was worked with as a medicinal plant for many different ailments. The flowers also act as an insecticide to some offensive pests in the garden.