I think the question is pretty clear.
On a side note…
If tobacco is a vegetable… Are there any other vegetables that contain significant amounts of nicotine!
On what basis would it be considered a vegetable? My understanding is that eating large amounts is essentially poison.
Of course, that’s also true of some other things we use as herbs and spices–and indeed tobacco has been used that way.
As to the other question, other members of the nightshade family (tomatoes, potatoes, etc.) contain some nicotine, but largely in leaves that aren’t typically eaten.
If by “vegetable”, you mean any plant part that isn’t a botanical fruit or seed, then yes. But vegetable isn’t usually used that way, it usually means a plant part that is eaten by humans but isn’t sweet. And so a watermelon is a culinary fruit, but a cucumber is a culinary vegetable. Under this definition, tobacco leaves aren’t vegetables, since eating them would make you sick.
No answer to your question. I’m just wondering if the question comes from that recent Frank Zappa interview.
Lima beans can be poisonous too, if eaten raw. Being poisonous and being a vegetable aren’t mutually exclusive.
If we think of “vegetables” in terms of foods, rather than crops, they do seem to be pretty exclusive.
Vegetable and fruit in the sense that the general public uses them are not based on anything “scientific”. You dont ask a taxonomic botanist if something is a fruit or veg - they will look at you really weird.
Out of curiosity, how recent? This I have to see!
Ignorance, successfully fought!
Thank you all, for the informative answers!
Lima beans? Who woulda guessed!?:eek: Probably a good thing that these boards aren’t frequented by very many 6-10 year old kids, ya think?
And NO, the question was not precipitated by a “Frank Zappa interview”.:rolleyes:
Since it appears that you’re satisfied with the answers you’ve gotten thus far, I’ll just mention that in the 20 Questions games I have played, early questions are designed to put the mystery object into one of three slots: Animal, Mineral or Vegetable (if the thing has some physical attributes anyway). And that Group would allow tobacco to count as a Vegetable. If Vegetable isn’t the right Group, what is? Plant?
Side Issue: what other Groups are you used to playing with in 20 Questions?
As above posters have pointed out, “vegetable” isn’t a very definite category.
That said, I can say with certainty that tomacco is a fruit.
Given that he died 18 years ago, what value of “recent” are we using here? Could have been a very one-sided interview, I suppose …
Well, since I first heard that tobacco was a vegetable in a Frank Zappa interview a day or so before this thread was posted I thought there might be a connection.
Recent in that I just saw the interview a couple days ago. But I see how what I wrote could be confusing.
confusing question… i think it may be veg…
Eggplants have nicotine.