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Tobacco generally refers to the leaves and other parts of certain South American plants that were domesticated and used by Native Americans for the alkaloid NICOTINE. Tobacco plants are a species of the genus Nicotiana, belonging to the Solanaceae (nightshade) family; this also includes potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, belladonna, and petunias. Including plants used for tobacco, there are sixty-four Nicotiana species. The two widely cultivated for use as tobacco are Nicotiana tabacum and Nicotiana rustica, the latter of which contains the higher levels of nicotine.
![Three hundred tobacco farmhands pose during picking season in Granby, Connecticut, circa 1903. (©CORBIS)](https://d22o6al7s0pvzr.cloudfront.net/images/bookrags/edaa/edaa_03_img0267.jpg)
Nicotiana Tabacum
is, however, the major source of commercial tobacco, although it has been hybridized with other Nicotiana species, with resultant alteration in chemical composition. Nicotiana tabacum is a broad-leaf plant that grows from 3 to 10 feet (1-3 m) tall and produces 10 to 20 leaves radiating from a central...
This section contains 1,424 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) |
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