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Ocimum americanum, known as American basil, lime basil, [2] or hoary basil, [3] is a species of annual herb in the family Lamiaceae. Despite the misleading name, it is native to Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, China, and Southeast Asia. The species is naturalized in Queensland, Christmas Island, and parts of tropical America.
Flowers Magnified leaf. Holy basil is an erect, many-branched subshrub, 30–60 cm (12–24 in) tall with hairy stems. Leaves are green or purple; they are simple, petioled, with an ovate blade up to 5 cm (2 in) long, which usually has a slightly toothed margin; they are strongly scented and have a decussate phyllotaxy.
Basil leaves are glossy and ovulate, with smooth or slightly toothed edges that typically cup slightly; the leaves are arranged oppositely along the square stems. [7] Leaves may be green or purple. Its flowers are small and white, and grow from a central inflorescence, or spike, that emerges from the central stem atop the plant.
Ocimum gratissimum, also known as clove basil, African basil, [1] and in Hawaii as wild basil, [2] is a species of basil. It is native to Africa , Madagascar , southern Asia , and the Bismarck Archipelago , and naturalized in Polynesia , Hawaii, Mexico , Panama , West Indies , Brazil , and Bolivia .
Basil cultivars vary in several ways. Visually, the size and shape of the leaves varies greatly, from the large lettuce-like leaves of the Mammoth basil and Lettuce leaf basil to the tiny leaves of the Dwarf bush basil. More practically, the fragrance of the basil varies due to the varying types and quantities of essential oils contained in the ...
The leaves of African blue basil start out purple when young, only growing green as the given leaf grows to its full size, and even then retaining purple veins. Based on other purple basils, the color is from anthocyanins , especially cyanidin-3-(di-p-coumarylglucoside)-5-glucoside, but also other cyanidin -based and peonidin -based compounds.
Basil (most commonly Thai basil) is commonly steeped in cream or milk to create an interesting flavor in ice cream or chocolates (such as truffles). The leaves are not the only part of basil used in culinary applications, the flower buds have a more subtle flavor and they are edible.
The tulasi plant is regarded as a threshold point between heaven and earth. A traditional prayer narrates that the creator-god Brahma resides in its branches, all Hindu pilgrimage centres reside in its roots, the Ganges flows within its roots, all deities are in its stem and its leaves, and that the most sacred Hindu texts, the Vedas are found ...