What does nicotiana mean?
Nicotiana is the scientific name of a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. It includes species commonly called tobacco, most famously Nicotiana tabacum, the principal species used to produce tobacco. Other members of the genus have been studied and cultivated for scientific, agricultural, and pharmaceutical purposes, including Nicotiana benthamiana, which is widely used as a model plant in plant biology and as a host for the production of recombinant proteins and vaccines. In general writing, Nicotiana refers to this botanical group rather than to one individual plant, and it is normally capitalized in accordance with taxonomic convention. The name is also associated with nicotine, the addictive alkaloid especially concentrated in tobacco leaves, though Nicotiana itself denotes the plants rather than the chemical substance.
nounA genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, including several species known as tobacco. The name is also used in botanical names such as Nicotiana tabacum.
- Any plant belonging to the botanical genus Nicotiana, a group of flowering plants in the family Solanaceae that includes species cultivated as tobacco.
- The taxonomic name of the genus encompassing these plants.
"Researchers introduced a modified Nicotiana plant that produced an experimental vaccine."
"The Nicotiana species used in the experiment contained altered levels of nicotine."
"Nicotine was originally obtained from plants of the genus Nicotiana."
Used when referring to individual plants or species as members of the genus, though scientific writing often uses Nicotiana species or a specific binomial name instead.
"Different Nicotianas exhibit distinct levels of resistance to plant pathogens."
Nicotiana is a plant genus named in honor of Jean Nicot, whose reports helped introduce tobacco to Renaissance Europe.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does nicotiana come from?
Nicotiana was named in honor of Jean Nicot de Villemain, the sixteenth-century French diplomat who became famous for introducing tobacco to the court of Henry II of France. The name was formed from his surname and Latinized for scientific usage. Its related English words nicotine and nicotinic ultimately derive from the same association with Jean Nicot and the tobacco plant.
Related word forms
How nicotiana is actually used
In scientific and botanical contexts, Nicotiana is normally capitalized and treated as a genus name; the term is not interchangeable with the common name tobacco.
Easily confused with nicotiana
Nicotiana is the botanical genus containing tobacco plants, whereas nicotine is the alkaloid compound found in tobacco.