Previous plants of the week - the papaya

Nicotiana mutabilis Stehmann & Semir

The fascinating and not very popular species Nicotiana mutabilis is one of the more recent discoveries in botany. It was only scientifically described in 2002 from the south of Brazil. It can be found in our collection of annual cultivated plants in the nightshade family (Solanaceae).

The short-lived, bushy-branched herb grows up to 1.50 m high and unfolds trumpet-like flowers on sticky flower stalks. Each one offers an extraordinary color spectacle: within a few days, the color changes from white to pink to strong magenta. This makes it easy to distinguish this tobacco from morphologically similar sister species. Only flowers that have been pollinated with foreign pollen during the white phase will set seed.

All flowers have a deep red throat in common, which is also intended to attract the attention of pollinators. In Brazil, hummingbirds have been observed as pollinators early in the morning and in the evening, but the faint evening scent of white flowers can also attract moths. Here in the Botanical Garden, honey bees and wild bees can be seen visiting the flowers during the day.

Due to its long flowering period, its suitability as a cut flower and its unusual play of colors, this attractive species is now occasionally traded as an ornamental garden plant. It thrives in sunny to semi-shady locations on well-moistened sandy soil. Skin contact with the plant should be avoided: Although it contains lower amounts of nicotine and other harmful pyridine alkaloids than real tobacco(Nicotiana tabacum L.), it is still a poisonous plant.

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Around 10,000 plant species grow in the Botanical Garden of TU Dresden. On this page we regularly present an example of this diversity in more detail. The special features of our scientific plant collection can be seen in many different ways: in amazing adaptations, strange names, interesting uses or even in their extraordinary flowering splendor.

You can view previous Plant of the Week articles in the archive.