Tobacco Plant: An Overview

Tobacco, that leafy substance that is smoked and chewed, comes from, as most people are aware, from a tobacco plant. Not much else is known about this particular plant, even though it is used world wide and has been for hundreds of years. Tobacco plants grow in warm air and are quite profitable for those who grow and harvest them.

Used only for its leaves, the tobacco plant is harvested for usage in cigarettes, cigars, and snuff. Tobacco plants are naturally laced with nicotine, which is that highly addictive component that makes people continue to smoke and chew tobacco. The nicotine is concentrated in the leaves of the plant.

Also, the tobacco plant is not a natural occurrence anywhere other than the Americas. In all other regions, the tobacco plant has been brought by man. This occurred many years ago, as the tobacco plant has been around for hundreds of years at least. In the past, people thought that the tobacco plant had health benefits or medicinal purposes, and so that is what it was originally used for.

Very few have ever actually seen a tobacco plant, so it may be a surprise to find that it resembles a bush. These tobacco plants have a shallow root system, which means they do not grow too far into the earth. Only the leaves are harvested since that is the only usable part of the tobacco plant. Surprisingly, these leaves are typically a pinkish hue, and their size varies slightly from plant to plant.

The leaves of the tobacco plant are quite voluminous, in that one plant can yield quite a bit of leaf. Once the leaves are removed from the tobacco plant, they are aged through a drying process. After the leaves are ready, they are either rolled into cigars or cigarettes for smoking, or they are ground into chewing tobacco.

The tobacco plant has been used in this fashion for many years. It is believed that the fact that nicotine, again highly addictive, is contained within the leaves of the tobacco plant is the reason that people have continued to cultivate this crop. Today, hundreds of years since the tobacco plant is believed to have been discovered, it is the most grown inedible crop in the world.

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