TREE TOBACCO (Nicotidna glauca, Graham). Flowers 

 greenish-yellow, tubular, l to 2 inches long, in loose panicles 

 at the ends of branches. Leaves ample, ovate, bluish-green, 

 very smooth with a "bloom." A straggling shrub or small 

 tree from 6 to 20 feet high, sometimes forming thickets, abund- 

 ant throughout Southern California in valleys and waste land 

 eastward to Arizona and down into Mexico; blooming through- 

 out much of the year. 



The Tree Tobacco is a native of the Argentine, and found 

 its way into the Pacific United States half a century ago no- 

 body knows just how. Its dust-like seeds, borne on the 

 wind, enable it to find a foothold in some surprising places, as 

 high up on old Mission walls, or on mossy roofs. It is a real 

 tobacco, as the botanic name indicates, and its dried leaves 

 are sometimes used by the impecunious for smoking. By 

 Mexicans it is called tobaco, or sometimes Buena moza, which 

 means "a fine girl," a compliment to the unpretentious 

 beauty of what most Americans consider a tree-weed. In 

 Arizona it has been called San Juan Tree, for a reason not ap- 

 parent. 



190 



