Tobacco

Tobacco, Pukeweed, Wild tobacco

tabaco

Nicotiana rustica, Lobelia inflata, Nicotiana tabacum

Aesemaa

petỹ

The tobacco plant has a thick, hairy stem and large, simple leaves that are oval. The tobacco plant produces white, cream, pink or red flowers which grow in large clusters, are tubular in appearance and can reach 3.5-5.5 cm (1,25-2 in) in length. The tobacco plant, which was considered to be a magical and sacred herb by the Indians, had numerous names in different parts of the Americas: saire in Peru, petum in Brazil, zemiin the Caribbean, picielt in Mexico, uppowoc in Virginia, and many more.

Indian tobacco was used in earlier years as a smoke for treating asthma and other lung ailments. Sacred tobacco was favourite for the Cherokee for ceremonial use, along with Indian tobacco (Lobelia inflata). Tobacco was used for the external treatment of insect bites and snake bites.It was also used for treating fevers, chills, cramps, nervous conditions, and pain in formulasfrom earlier years. In Europe, tobacco was planted only as a strange and wonderful medicinal herb, used as a cure-all for the bites of animals, snakes and insects; headaches, colds, bruises, asthma, giddiness, rheumatism, ulcers, apoplexy and even the plague. It was called Herba panacea – cure-all herb, Herba Santa – sacred herb, San sancta Indorum – Indian sacred cure.<br />Indian tobacco was thought to be a “cure-all” in the early nineteenth century. The plant contains an alkaloid called lobeline, which relaxes muscles. Today tobacco is also used as the homeopathic remedy tabacum, which treats a symptom picture including dizziness, notion sickness, diarrhea and dry cough. Chewing a leaf of the fresh plant relieves toothache, but the narcotic properties render it a less than perfect remedy. The main alkaloid in tobacco – nicotine, has been the subject of copious research. Nicotine patches were introduced as a way to help smokers quit, by giving them a small amount of the addictive chemical without the inhalation of other harmful chemicals. Nicotine has been found to improve cognitive function in older people, including those with Alzheimer’s disease.

La planta del tabaco tiene un tallo grueso y peludo y hojas grandes, simples y ovaladas. La planta del tabaco produce flores de color blanco, crema, rosa o rojo que crecen en grandes racimos, son de apariencia tubular y pueden alcanzar los 3,5-5,5 cm (1,25-2 pulgadas) de largo. La planta del tabaco, considerada por los indígenas como una hierba mágica y sagrada, tuvo numerosos nombres en diferentes partes de América: saire en Perú, petum en Brasil, zemi en el Caribe, picielt en México, uppowoc en Virginia, y muchos más.