Within the Solanaceae family, tobacco belongs to the Nicotiana genus. This 
genus consists of over 70 species, mostly ornamentals such as alata, glauca, 
sylvestus and sandrae (1 ). Only two species of Nicotiana are cultivated for 
their leaves, tobacco (N. tabacum) and Indian tobacco (N. rustica) . Indian 
tobacco is native to the United States but is predominantly grown in 
foreign countries because of its high nicotine content. Consequently, 
Indian tobacco has little economic impact on this country. 
Tobacco, however, has a significant economic impact in the United States 
as this country leads the world in tobacco production. Farmers in the 
United States plant over 860,000 acres in tobacco with the farm value of 
this crop exceeding 1.4 billion dollars (19). 
N. tabacum is believed to originate from a natural cross between N. 
sylvestrus and another native species. The plant is four to six feet high, 
terminating in a cluster of over 150 funnel-shaped flowers. The tobacco 
fruit is a capsule that splits open at maturity, containing up to 8,000 
seeds. The tobacco plant bears 12 to 15 leaves that are up to two feet long 
(19). 
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