Nicotiana obtusifolia
Desert Tobacco
Herbaceous perennial plant, short-lived but reseeds readily. White flowers can occur any time of year depending on the temperature. This plant is covered with glandular hairs, making it sticky to the touch and giving it a pungent scent.
Full to part sun, moderate water, hardy to probably at least 10°F.
The flowers attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Larval food plant for several moths: five spotted hawkmoth (Manduca quinquemaculata), tobacco hornworm moth (Manduca sexta), tobacco budworm moth (Heliothis virescens), and several crambid moths (family Crambidae).
Poultice of the leaves applied to cuts, bruises, swellings, and other wounds; smoke is blown into the ear to treat earaches; also used as chew, smoked, and used ceremonially. The leaves are mild and peppery when smoked.
Nicotiana is named for Jean Nicot (1530-1600), the French ambassador to Portugal responsible for introducing tobacco to France in 1560; obtusifolia means obtuse or blunt leaved.
Found in canyons, at the base of rocky slopes, and along washes; below 6,000 ft. in southern California, southern Nevada, southern Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas; south into southern Mexico.
Flower detail, showing the glandular nature of the plant. Photo by Don Rideout, iNaturalist
Very typical habitat for this species. Photo by amscarff on iNaturalist
Butterfly feeding on nectar of plant. Photo by Wendy McCrady, iNaturalist
A NOTE ON A NON-NATIVE TOBACCO A plant that shows up often in Arizona landscapes, and in disturbed soils around the state, is tree tobacco (Nicotiana glauca). Originally this plant is from South America, but it has made its way up to our region in disturbed soils. It doesn't seem to displace native plants, though it can be weedy in the landscape. If it shows up in your yard, you can pull it, or you can keep it too--the plant offers a lot to wildlife (nectar for hummingbirds and other pollinators, and as a larval host for many moths). Though it is naturalized and not native, it isnt invasive in the sense that it does not break into established ecologies and displace native plants.