 Habit (rockface, near Bathurst, NSW). 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). |
 Flowers and capsule (J.R. Hosking 1108, Bowling Alley Point, NSW). Photo: J.R. Hosking © J.R. Hosking |
 Seed (KL Wilson 5864, AD). Photo © Bob Baldock. |
 Distribution map generated from Australia's Virtual Herbarium, May 2006. Dots outside Victoria and NSW are erroneous or represent cultivated material. |
Synonymy
Nicotiana suaveolens Lehm., Gen. Nicot. Hist. 43 (1818)
N. undulata Vent., Jard. Malm. 1: 10; t. 10 (1803), nom. illeg., non Ruíz Lopez & PavÓn (1799); N. suaveolens var. undulata Comes, Monogr. Nicot. 40 (1899), fide H.E. Wheeler, op. cit., 59, based on N. undulata Vent.
T: N. undulata ex Hortus Malmaison, Herbier de Ventenat, from seed from Port Jackson, N.S.W.; holo: G n.v., photo ADW.
N. suaveolens var. parviflora Benth., Fl. Austral. 4: 470 (1868), p.p., fide T.H. Goodspeed, Chron. Bot. 16: 473 (1954).
T: Port Jackson, N.S.W., coll. unknown; n.v.
N. exigua H. Wheeler, op. cit., 64, fide P. Horton, J. Adelaide Bot. Gard. 3: 34 (1981).
T: Cultivated plant 31424 P6, grown at University of California Botanic Gardens 1932 from seed accession 1931–59, collected Dalby, Qld, J.H. McCarthy s.n.; holo: UC n.v.; iso: AD.
Description
Herb to 1.5 m; stems and leaves glabrous or variably pubescent with non-glandular hairs, occasionally white-woolly.
Leaves usually radical and cauline, ovate or elliptic, the upper ones lanceolate to linear; lamina up to 16 (occasionally to 30) cm long; petiole to 7 (occasionally to 16) cm long, usually narrowly winged, the base sometimes slightly stem-clasping.
Inflorescence panicle-like, usually few-branched, pubescent with glandular hairs. Calyx 6–13 (rarely to 26) mm long; intersepalar membranes usually conspicuous. Corolla-tube 17–55 mm long, 2–6 mm wide at top of calyx, distinctly narrowed at base; limb 14–35 mm diam., the lobes obtuse or notched. Upper 4 anthers at about same level, their filaments to 3 mm long; filament of 5th stamen 11–16 mm long, inserted in lower half of corolla-tube.
Capsule ovoid or ovoid-ellipsoid, 7–12 mm long. Seeds usually reniform or acutely angled; testa irregularly honeycombed or wrinkled. n=16.
Distribution and ecology
Widespread in coastal and inland areas of south-eastern N.S.W. and Vic.
Grows in sandy or stony soil on creek banks and rocky slopes; often in the understorey of woodland or shrubland.
Notes
A variable species with diploid and tetraploid races; possibly hybridises with N. velutina H.Wheeler where distributions overlap.
According to Pandey (1969) N. suaveolens (and the synonym, N. exigua) has flowers which are self-compatible.
Reference: Pandey, K. K. (1969) Elements of the S-gene complex V. Interspecific cross-compatibility relationships and theory of the evolution of the S complex. Genetica 40, 447-474.
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.S.W.: NW of Yenda, N.T. Burbidge 6421 (AD, BRI, CANB, MEL, NSW). Vic.: Brisbane Ranges, 22 Oct. 1955, J.H. Willis (MEL).
Web links
Further information and images of this species in NSW can be seen on the PlantNET site.