Plant · P-940

Wild Tobacco

Nicotiana rustica

Wild tobacco is a fast-growing annual grown for its leaves, which carry far more nicotine than common tobacco and have long been used in ceremonial, medicinal and pest-control preparations across the Americas. Native to the Andean region of Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador, it wants full sun and moist, well-drained soil ranging from light sandy to heavy clay. Every part of the plant is poisonous and nicotine absorbs readily through skin, so it calls for careful handling and siting away from children and stock.