# Biology of Nicotiana glutinosa L., a newly recorded species from an archaeological excavation site in Egypt

## TL;DR

A new Nicotiana glutinosa population was found in an Egyptian archaeological site, showing invasive potential and needing monitoring.

## Contribution

Nicotiana glutinosa is newly recorded in Egypt's flora, with detailed morphological and ecological observations.

## Key findings

- N. glutinosa individuals range from 1.33 to 150 cm in size with densities up to 273 individuals per 100 m².
- The species has a high proportion of juvenile individuals, suggesting a healthy and potentially invasive population.
- N. glutinosa shares traits with invasive species, indicating a risk to local biodiversity.

## Abstract

During a field survey of urban flora in Alexandria city in 2019–2022, an interesting species belonging to the Solanaceae was collected from a newly archaeological excavation site and identified as Nicotiana glutinosa L. Many visits were made to the herbaria of Egypt to confirm the species records, but no single record was found. Reviewing the available literature revealed that this tropical American taxon was never recorded in the flora of Egypt.

The present study was focused on N. glutinosa growth structure and plant macro- and micromorphology.

Ten sampling sites were covered for N. glutinosa size structure. Plant samples were examined for stem anatomy, leaf, seed, and pollen morphology.

The species size structure reveals that the individual size index ranges from 1.33 to 150 cm, while its density ranges from 4 to 273 individuals /100 m−2.

N. glutinosa has successfully established itself in one of the archaeological sites in Egypt, showing a “healthy” population with a high degree of size inequality, characterized by a relative majority of the juvenile individuals. Voucher specimens were deposited in the Herbarium of Alexandria University (ALEX) Faculty of Science, another specimen is processed to make herbarium specimens at the Herbarium of the Botanic Garden (Heneidy et al. collection, deposition number. 5502).

From our observations, N. glutinosa seems to have invasive potential, as it shows characteristics shared by most invasive species that are thought to help in their successful establishment in new habitats. This article emphasizes the importance of monitoring and regularly reporting the threats of alien invasive species to avoid any possible negative impacts on indigenous biodiversity in the future.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12870-024-04816-z.