 Habit (Alice Springs, NT). Image reproduced with permission from Japan Tobacco Inc. from The genus Nicotiana illustrated (1994). |
 Image reproduced with permission from Japan Tobacco Inc. from The genus Nicotiana illustrated (1994). |
 Image reproduced with permission from Japan Tobacco Inc. from The genus Nicotiana illustrated (1994). |
 Image reproduced with permission from Japan Tobacco Inc. from The genus Nicotiana illustrated (1994). |
 Seed (DE Symon 15782, AD). Photo © Bob Baldock. |
 Line drawing by P. Horton showing basal leaf and inflorescence. |
 Distribution map of the species generated from Australia's Virtual Herbarium, May 2006. |
Synonymy
Nicotiana megalosiphon subsp. sessilifolia P. Horton, J. Adelaide Bot. Gard. 3: 28 (1981)
T: Marshall River, N.T., 19 May 1972, P.K. Latz 2503; holo: NT; iso: ADW, BRI, CANB, NSW.
Description
Herb to 90 cm, densely pubescent with glandular hairs.
Leaves radical and cauline or mostly radical, lower leaves petiolate, upper leaves sessile, auriculate and stem-clasping; lower leaves elliptic to ovate, the upper cauline ones lanceolate to linear; lamina up to 17 cm long; petiole to 9 cm long, usually narrowly winged.
Inflorescence panicle-like, few-branched. Calyx 10–20 mm long. Corolla-tube 35–95 mm long, to 2.5 mm wide at top of calyx; limb 15–35 mm diam., the lobes usually notched. Upper 4 anthers at about same level, their filaments to 2 mm long; filament of 5th stamen 1.5–11 mm long, inserted in upper half of corolla-tube.
Capsule ovoid-ellipsoid, 7–16 mm long. Seeds reniform or acutely angled; seed testa usually regularly honeycombed.
Distribution and ecology
Occurs in arid N.T. north of Alice Springs, extending to western Qld.
Grows in sand, loam or clay along water courses, rarely in soil pockets on rocky hillsides.
Notes
Distinct from subsp. megalosiphon by the sessile and auriculate upper leaves and the seed testa being regularly honeycombed.
Robust specimens superficially resemble N. gossei Domin but this taxon can be distinguished by the regular pattern on the seed testa, the non-woolly pubescence and the shorter calyx.
Depauperate specimens may be confused with the closely related N. simulans N. Burb.
May be poisonous to cattle and sheep.
A valuable summary of the cultural use of Nicotiana species in Australia is provided in D.E.Symon (2005). Native tobaccos (Solanaceae: Nicotiana spp.) in Australia and their use by Aboriginal peoples. The Beagle 21: 1-10.
Selected specimens
N.T.: Mount Wedge Stn, P.K. Latz 2154 (CANB, NT, PERTH); Davenport Range, P.K. Latz 6917 (AD, BRI, NT). Qld: Kallala Stn, S.L. Everist 3229 (BRI, CANB); Leichhardt Falls, S. Jacobs 1303 (NSW).