Indian Tobacco (Coyote Tobacco; Wallace's Tobacco)

Nicotiana quadrivalvis= bigelovii var. wallacei

An occasional 16 to 48 in. tall erect, hairy, sticky, annual on sandy washes in
alluvial scrub, mulefat scrub, and on dry slopes in openings within coastal sage
scrub at San Diego Creek, San Joaquin Hills, and mountain foothills.  Most common following fire (Roberts). Flowering: March - October. This species was widely cultivated by Native American people.  The Cahuilla Indian shamans used tobacco as an integral part of their rituals, and for many medicinal remedies. More on uses.

The Southern Diegueno Indians smoked the leaves of Nicotiana attenuata, for which there are no recent records from Orange County (Roberts). Cigarettes were made by rolling the dried leaves in the hands into a cylindrical shape and then stuffing them into a hollowed out elderberry tube.  Agave fibre was rammed into the opposite end for about one-half inch and acted as a filter.  This was thought to keep the flame from reaching and burning the mouth.

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