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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.
“Basil plants don't like change in their environment,” he says. “If your plant isn't growing for a few weeks, let the plant adjust, so it can go through a bit of shock or an acclimation period.
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.
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 ...
African blue basil (Ocimum kilimandscharicum × basilicum 'Dark Opal') is a hybrid basil variety, a cross between camphor basil and dark opal basil. It is one of a few types of basil that are perennial. African blue basil plants are sterile, unable to produce seeds of their own, and can only be propagated by cuttings. [1]
Thai basil has a purple stem, and like other plants in the mint family, the stem is square. Its leaves are opposite and decussate. [5] As implied by its scientific name, Thai basil flowers in the form of a thyrse. [6] The inflorescence is purple, and the flowers when open are pink. [7]