Nicotiana alata Link & Otto

Annual or short-lived perennial, glandular-viscid herb with stems to c. 80 cm tall. Basal lvs often with short winged petiole; cauline lvs sessile, amplexicaul, ± auriculate, decurrent on stem; lower lvs to c. 20 × 8 cm (larger in cultivation), broadly spathulate to elliptic, with dense hairs on veins below, otherwise hairs often sparse; apex acute or nearly so. False raceme few-flowered, lax; fls fragrant. Calyx 2–2.3 cm long, densely glandular-viscid; teeth 0.6–1 cm long, subulate, equal. Corolla pale greenish outside, white inside; tube 7–9 cm long, narrowly tubular-salverform and gradually widening in upper 1/2; lobes 1.5–2 cm long, not reflexed, obtuse to acute. Capsule c. 1.5 cm long, ovoid. Seed 0.9–1 mm long, ± broadly oblong, rugose.

[From: Webb et al. (1988) Flora of New Zealand. Volume 4.]

Flowering: Oct.–Mar.