The genusNicotiana (from which the wordnicotine is derived) was named in honor ofJean Nicot, French ambassador to Portugal, who in 1559 sent samples as a medicine to the court ofCatherine de' Medici.[11]
Illustration with photographs of tobacco leaves infested by tobacco beetles (Lasioderma serricorne) from Runner, G. A.,The tobacco beetle (1919), Bulletin of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, theBiodiversity Heritage LibraryA female specimen of the tobacco hawkmoth (Manduca sexta)
Despite containing enoughnicotine and/or other compounds such asgermacrene andanabasine and otherpiperidine alkaloids (varying between species) todeter mostherbivores,[12] a number of such animals haveevolved the ability to feed onNicotiana species without being harmed. Nonetheless, tobacco is unpalatable to many species and therefore some tobacco plants (mainly tree tobacco (N. glauca)) have become established asinvasive species in some places.[13]
In the 19th century, young tobacco plantings came under increasing attack fromflea beetles (particularly the potato flea beetle (Epitrix cucumeris) and/orEpitrix pubescens), causing the destruction of half the United States tobacco crop in 1876. In the years afterward, many experiments were attempted and discussed to control the potato flea beetle. By 1880, it was discovered that covering young plants with a frame covered with thin fabric (instead of with branches, as had previously been used for frost control) would effectively protect the plants from the beetle. This practice spread until it became ubiquitous in the 1890s.[citation needed]
Garden varieties are derived fromN. alata (e.g., the 'Niki' and 'Saratoga' series) and more recently fromNicotiana ×sanderae (e.g., the 'Perfume' and 'Domino' series).[20]
The tobacco budworm (Chloridea virescens) has proved to be a massive "pest" of many species in the genus, and has resisted many attempts at management.[23]
^Clausen, R.E. (1928) Interspecific hybridization in Nicotiana. VII. The cytology of hybrids of the synthetic species,digluta, with its parents,glutinosa andtabacum. Univ. Cal. Pub. Botany. 11(10):177-211.
^abcdHayden, James E.; Lee, Sangmi; Passoa, Steven C.; Young, James; Landry, Jean-François; Nazari, Vazrick; Mally, Richard; Somma, Louis A.; Ahlmark, Kurt M. (2013)."Microlepidoptera on Solanaceae".Digital Identification of Microlepidoptera on Solanaceae. Fort Collins, Colorado: USDA-APHIS-PPQ Identification Technology Program (ITP). Retrieved2020-02-14.
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