Is this "wild" tobacco ? or what is it ?

[garryricketson]

I have found a few of these growing wild around here, it looks very similar to the "rustic" I am growing , with seed I bought. I opened the seed pods, where they have been flowering, and the seeds are a little smaller, but look exactly like the other types of tobacco seed I have.

Another one of the guys here at work, where I found these, showed me, to break the "suckers" off, and he said doing that will make the leaves grow larger, he used to work in some commercial tobacco fields in Kentucky, said that was part of their job, to "prune", breaking off the branches or "suckers", he also commented that when the plants I planted start growing these "suckers", I will need to do the same, or my plants will end up looking like these, not much big leaves. He also commented that in some fields, nearby here, there are a lot of this kind of plant, growing wild, but he does also think maybe it is tobacco. What do you guys think, if not tobacco, I am curious what it is.

 

[FmGrowit]

I believe the name of the type of that plant is known as "wild tobacco". I also believe it is an actual wild nicotiana tabacum...it doesn't look like a nicotiana rustica.


Nice find.

 

[forumdotabaco]

Please save the seeds, that can be a good start point to play with cross breeding since wild tobaccos have special powers that can be precious like the ability to call benign pests to combat other non wanted pests

 

[istanbulin]

I think it's Nicotiana obtusifolia.

 

[Mad Oshea]

I think Don is correct. I too have seen them south east of here. They put out a group of flowers and would be fun to watch . That one is an ugly one. I would bag all My tops due to that little guy being around. It would be a weed to Me due to looks but I would not cut it down. Nice leaf on the bottom.

 

[FmGrowit]

Here's a picture of wild nicotiana tabacum from Querétaro, Mexico

Now that I see both plants...yours appears to have yellow flowers which leads me to think it might be rustica.

 

[FmGrowit]

I'll yield to those with more experience. I think Emre is right.

 

[deluxestogie]

If the blossoms on garryricketson's plant are yellow (they appear white to me), then I would also say it's N. rustica. If they are white, then I'll have to defer to skychaser or Jessica or istanbulin.

Bob

 

[Mad Oshea]

The wild type that He pictured looks like what I seen.(first) the flowers on them kind of had a yellow start but when open looked light green. Never paid attention to them till now. Looks like a harsh tobacco. Just the looks would scare off the bugs.
Good post.

 

[Mad Oshea]

If the blossoms on garryricketson's plant are yellow (they appear white to me), then I would also say it's N. rustica. If they are white, then I'll have to defer to skychaser or Jessica or istanbulin.

Bob

I agree- I'm in the dark on that one. Would love to see the out come of it.

 

[deluxestogie]

Following instanbulin's suggestion, I found this image of N. obtusifolia on Wikipedia.

Nicotiana obtusifolia, or desert tobacco, is a plant native to the southwestern United States (from California to Utah to Texas) and Mexico.

It is a woody perennial herb growing up to about 80 centimeters in maximum height. The leaves have blades up to 10 centimeters long, the lower ones borne on short petioles, the upper ones smaller and clasping the stem. The funnel-shaped flower is white or green-tinged, its tubular throat up to 2.6 centimeters long.

Image detail from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Nicotiana_obtusifolia_Anza-Borrego.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotiana_obtusifolia

Bob

 

[forumdotabaco]

This is the exact one i was referring about the ability to call beneficial pests

 

[DonH]

Is it smokable? In other words no other toxic alkaloids besides what's in a Tabacum?

 

[deluxestogie]

In addition to nicotine, N. obtusifolia also contains substantial levels of anabasine. Anabasine, if ingested, may cause serious toxic effects which (unlike nicotine) will not induce vomiting. N. obtusifolia is a common source of livestock poisoning on rangelands with little other ingestible vegetation.

It's probably smokable, and probably awful.

Bob

 

[garryricketson]

Hmm, thanks on the feed back, The flowers were/are yellow, it is hard to tell in the photos, the sun was at "high noon" and to bright to get good shots. I have heard many people mention Rustica smelling pretty bad, or a strong smell, This plant does not seem to really have a unpleasant smell, nor all that strong, but that may be me. I did cut some leaves, and am letting them dry , see how it turns out.
Good point on bagging the flowers, and seed pods, they are pretty far from where my plants are, also my plants are very small, no where near flowering yet,.. on mine , also I will be topping most of mine to get bigger leaves.
Something that has occured to be though, the soil I started mine in came from near by where these are, I had not noticed them before,..
I will keep you all posted and try to get some better photos.

 

[DGBAMA]

Gary, if you thin/cull your seedlings by uniformity within each variety, you will pretty much eliminate any chance of a stray seedling (wild) of another variety getting mixed in.

 

[garryricketson]

Yes, I do thin them, mostly by size, also I all ready tried just throwing some seed in to the dirt, and letting it get mixed in, nothing sprouts, it would seem if there is some other seed mixed in the soil, there still is very little chance of any sprouting, only when I carefully sprinkle some seeds on top of the soil,(all ready damp) and take care to make sure the water soaks up , from the bottom, or for example in the wheel barrow that I started the seed in, the out side edges are like "canals", the water goes down around the edges, fills the wheel barrow to a level , slightly below the level the seeds and seedlings are, then slow;y drains , down through some holes in the bottom,

So there really is very little chance of any stray seeds sprouting.

 

[forumdotabaco]

Im now aware that desert tobacco could be dangerous, but anyway I would be interested in buy some seeds from wild nicotiniana/the desert one just for cross-breeding experiences, but if this specific one is a rustica them most likely is to be Mapacho.what about rusticas experience does any one have any?

 

[garryricketson]

Some else has told me they let it cure 1 year, but that is what they are smoking,

Im now aware that desert tobacco could be dangerous,

and

In addition to nicotine, N. obtusifolia also contains substantial levels of anabasine. Anabasine, if ingested, may cause serious toxic effects which (unlike nicotine) will not induce vomiting. N. obtusifolia is a common source of livestock poisoning on rangelands with little other ingestible vegetation.

Rustica is also know to be very high in nicotine, and used to make poison, I imagine any tobacco if enough was ate, by livestock with nothing else available could/would be toxic, horses can not vomit, they would get "colic", With the "rustica" seed I bought , the seller recomended either mixing it with other herbs, or low nicotine tobacco, or being very cautious when first smoking it if smoked "pure", by it self. Making "chew" probabley not be a very good idea. Eating tobacco, is not the same as smoking it,...
On the seeds,

but anyway I would be interested in buy some seeds from wild nicotiniana/the desert one just for cross-breeding experiences

, when I more deffinately determine that it is "rustica", but wild, native to this area, (very much desert), I will be happy to send you some seeds, for free. I have not yet tried smoking any, so I don't know for sure if it has any nicotine, nor how it tastes, I have some leaves drying. Another guy told me I can "roast" it, over a fire, a good smokey fire, or one that has a lot of "vapor" as he put it, he said it will turn brown, and be smokeable, said that was also what some of his co-workers did in Kentucky, with fresh green commercial tobacco, ones that like to smoke.
We are on vacation this week, and I plan to get some seed, as much as I can off of the plants in the photos, and also go look at the fields he was talking about, however there may not be any growing yet, to dry, next month or in June when the rains come, the wild stuff, and also that is when they plant the beans and corn, that is the time when everything starts growing. he commented, the only reason those plants are there this early is because of the watering of the fruit trees (lime). Even in June, we still have 5 months even 6 months of warn weather. Last year when the rains came, it rained every other day, the entire month, and into July, and even still more occasionally in August, the "desert" changed incredibly, like magic,

and it was very pretty, I am hoping this year goes the same.
The fields that the guy at work told me to look in, are belong to the ejidos http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ejido "Ejido" fields, these are the fields they have been using for ever 200 years, they are not irrigated, all though now ,just this year they are starting to get some irrigation in.

 

[forumdotabaco]

Thank you, I don't plan to smoke rusticas, any of it, I just want them for cross breeding experiences, the smoking of rusticas will only increase your need of nicotine, they are to strong.