Sweet Basil

Appearance

Basil is an annual, or sometimes perennial, herb used for its leaves. Depending on the variety, plants can reach heights of between 30 and 150 cm. Its leaves are richly green and ovate, but otherwise come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes depending on cultivar. Leaf sizes range from 3 to 11 cm long, and between 1 and 6 cm wide. Basil grows a thick, central taproot. Its flowers are small and white, and grow from a central inflorescence, or spike, that emerges from the central stem atop the plant. Unusual among Lamiaceae, the four stamens and the pistil are not pushed under the upper lip of the corolla, but lie over the inferior lip. After entomophilous pollination, the corolla falls off and four round achenes develop inside the bilabiate calyx.

Naming

The name "basil" comes from the Latin, and the Greek, meaning "royal/kingly plant", possibly because the plant was believed to have been used in production of royal perfumes. Basil is likewise sometimes referred to in French as. The Latin name has been confused with basilisk, as it was supposed to be an antidote to the basilisk's venom.Some similar species in the same genus may be commonly called "basil", although they are not varieties of "Ocimum basilicum".

⤷  Camphor basil, African basil
⤷  Clove basil, also African basil
⤷  Holy basil

Distribution

Basil is native to India and other tropical regions stretching from Africa to South East Asia, but has now become globalized due to human cultivation.

Habitat

Basil is native to India and other tropical regions stretching from Africa to South East Asia, but has now become globalized due to human cultivation.

Uses

Basil, freshNutritional value per 100 g Energy94 kJ Carbohydrates2.65 gDietary fiber1.6 g
Fat0.64 g
Protein3.15 g

Cultural

There are many rituals and beliefs associated with basil. The ancient Egyptians and ancient Greeks believed basil would open the gates of heaven for a person passing on.better source needed Jewish folklore suggests it adds strength while fasting.better source needed However, Herbalist Nicholas Culpeper saw basil as a plant of dread and suspicion.

In Portugal, dwarf bush basil is traditionally presented in a pot, together with a poem and a paper carnation, to a sweetheart, on the religious holidays of John the Baptist and Saint Anthony of Padua. In Giovanni Boccaccio's 14th century "Decameron", the fifth story of the narrative's fourth day involves a pot of basil as a central plot device. This famous story inspired John Keats to write his 1814 poem "Isabella, or the Pot of Basil", which was in turn the inspiration for two paintings of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood: John Everett Millais's "Isabella" in 1849 and in 1868 the "Isabella and the Pot of Basil" by William Holman Hunt.

Basil has religious significance in the Greek Orthodox Church, where it is used to sprinkle holy water. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Serbian Orthodox Church, Macedonian Orthodox Church and Romanian Orthodox Church use basil to prepare holy water and pots of basil are often placed below church altars. Some Greek Orthodox Christians even avoid eating it due to its association with the legend of the Elevation of the Holy Cross.