''Ocimum gratissimum'', also known as clove basil, African basil, and in Hawaii as wild basil,
* Holy basil (''Ocimum tenuiflorum
''Ocimum tenuiflorum'', commonly known as holy basil, ''tulsi'' or ''tulasi'', is an aromatic perennial plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is native to the Indian subcontinent and widespread as a cultivated plant throughout the Southeast Asian ...
'', formerly known as ''O. sanctum'')
Cultivation
Growing conditions
Basil is sensitive to cold, with best growth in hot, dry conditions. It behaves as an annual if there is any chance of a frost. However, due to its popularity, basil is cultivated in many countries around the world. Production areas include countries in the Mediterranean area, those in the temperate zone, and others in subtropical climates.
In Northern Europe, Canada, the northern states of the U.S., and the South Island of New Zealand, basil grows best if sown under glass in a peat pot, then planted out in late spring/early summer (when there is little chance of a frost); however, it can also thrive when planted outside in these climates. Additionally, it may be sown in soil once chance of frost is past. It fares best in well-drained soil with direct exposure to the sun.
Although basil grows best outdoors, it can be grown indoors in a pot and, like most herbs, will do best on a sun-facing windowsill, kept away from extremely cold drafts. A greenhouse
A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic conditions are grown.These ...
or row cover
In agriculture and gardening, row cover is any transparent or semi-transparent flexible material, like fabric or plastic sheeting, used as a protective covering for plants, usually vegetables. Covers are used to extend growing seasons, and redu ...
is ideal if available. It can, however, even be grown in a basement under fluorescent lights. Supplemental lighting produces greater biomass and phenol production, with red + blue specifically increasing growth and flower bud production. UV-B increases the volatiles in ''O. basilicum'' essential oil, which has not been reproducible in other plants, and so may be unique to the genus or even to this species.
Basil plants require regular watering, but not as much attention as is needed in other climates. If its leaves have wilted from lack of water, it will recover if watered thoroughly and placed in a sunny location. Yellow leaves towards the bottom of the plant are an indication that the plant has been stressed; usually this means that it needs less water, or less or more fertilizer. Basil can be propagated reliably from cuttings with the stems of short cuttings suspended in water for two weeks or until roots develop.
Pruning, flowering, and seeding
Once a stem produces flowers, foliage production stops on that stem, the stem becomes woody, and essential oil production declines. To prevent this, a basil-grower may pinch off any flower stems before they are fully mature. Because only the blooming stem is so affected, some stems can be pinched for leaf production, while others are left to bloom for decoration or seeds. Picking the leaves off the plant helps promote growth, largely because the plant responds by converting pairs of leaflets next to the topmost leaves into new stems.
Once the plant is allowed to flower, it may produce seed pods containing small black seeds, which can be saved and planted the following year. If allowed to go to seed, a basil plant will grow back the next year.
Diseases
Basil suffers from several plant pathogens that can ruin the crop and reduce yield. Fusarium wilt is a soil-borne fungal disease that will quickly kill younger basil plants. Seedlings may be killed by ''Pythium
''Pythium'' is a genus of parasitic oomycetes. They were formerly classified as fungi. Most species are plant parasites, but ''Pythium insidiosum'' is an important pathogen of animals, causing pythiosis. The feet of the fungus gnat are frequent ...
'' damping off
Damping off (or damping-off) is a horticultural disease or condition, caused by several different pathogens that kill or weaken seeds or seedlings before or after they germinate. It is most prevalent in wet and cool conditions.
Symptoms
There ar ...
. A common foliar
A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...
disease of basil is gray mold
''Botrytis cinerea'' is a necrotrophic fungus that affects many plant species, although its most notable hosts may be wine grapes. In viticulture, it is commonly known as "botrytis bunch rot"; in horticulture, it is usually called "grey mould" ...
caused by ''Botrytis cinerea
''Botrytis cinerea'' is a necrotrophic fungus that affects many plant species, although its most notable hosts may be wine grapes. In viticulture, it is commonly known as "botrytis bunch rot"; in horticulture, it is usually called "grey mould" or ...
''; it can cause infections post-harvest and is capable of killing the entire plant. Black spot can be seen on basil foliage and is caused by the fungi genus ''Colletotrichum
''Colletotrichum'' (sexual stage: ''Glomerella'') is a genus of fungi that are symbionts to plants as endophytes (living within the plant) or phytopathogens. Many of the species in this genus are plant pathogens, but some species may have a mutu ...
''. Downy mildew caused by ''Peronospora belbahrii'' is a significant disease, as first reported in Italy in 2004. It was reported in the U.S. in 2007 and 2008.
Non-pathogenic bacteria found on basil include '' Novosphingobium'' species.
Uses
Culinary
Basil is most commonly used fresh in recipes. In general, it is added last, as cooking quickly destroys the flavor. The fresh herb can be kept for a short time in plastic bags in the refrigerator, or for a longer period in the freezer, after being blanched quickly in boiling water.
Leaves and flowers
The most commonly used Mediterranean basil cultivars are "Genovese", "Purple Ruffles", "Mammoth", "Cinnamon", "Lemon", "Globe", and " African Blue". Basil is one of the main ingredients in pesto
Pesto () is a sauce that traditionally consists of crushed garlic, European pine nuts, coarse salt, basil leaves, and hard cheese such as Parmigiano-Reggiano (also known as Parmesan cheese) or Pecorino Sardo (cheese made from sheep's milk), ...
, an Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional It ...
sauce with olive oil and basil as its primary ingredients. Many national cuisines use fresh or dried basils in soups and other foods, such as to thicken soups. Basil is commonly steeped in cream or milk to create flavor in ice cream or chocolate truffle
A chocolate truffle is a type of chocolate confectionery, traditionally made with a chocolate ganache centre coated in chocolate, cocoa powder, coconut, or chopped and toasted nuts (typically hazelnuts or almonds), usually in a spherical, conic ...
s.
Lemon basil has a strong lemon
The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China.
The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culina ...
y smell and flavor due to the presence of citral
Citral is an acyclic monoterpene aldehyde, and being a monoterpene, it is made of two isoprene units. Citral is a collective term which covers two geometric isomers that have their own separate names; the ''E''-isomer is named geranial (''trans' ...
. It is widely used in Indonesia, where it is called and served raw as an accompaniment to meat or fish.
Seeds
When soaked in water, the seeds of several basil varieties become gelatinous, and are used in Asian drinks and desserts such as the Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
''faluda
A ''falooda'' is a Mughlai Indian version of a cold dessert made with noodles. It has origins in the Persian dish ''faloodeh'', variants of which are found across West, Central, and South Asia. Traditionally it is made by mixing rose syrup, ...
'', the Iranian
Iranian may refer to:
* Iran, a sovereign state
* Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran
* Iranian lan ...
, or . In Kashmir, the Ramadan fast is often broken with ''babre beole'', a sharbat made with basil seeds.
Folk medicine
Basil is used in folk medicine
Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...
practices, such as those of Ayurveda
Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population repor ...
or traditional Chinese medicine.
Toxicity to pests and pathogens
Insecticide and insect repellent
Studies of the essential oil have shown insecticidal
Insecticides are substances used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and by consumers. Insecticides are claimed to ...
and insect-repelling properties, including potential toxicity to mosquitos. The essential oil is found by Huignard et al. 2008 to inhibit electrical activity by decreasing action potential
An action potential occurs when the membrane potential of a specific cell location rapidly rises and falls. This depolarization then causes adjacent locations to similarly depolarize. Action potentials occur in several types of animal cells, ...
amplitude, by shortening the post hyperpolarization phase, and reducing the action frequency of action potentials. In Huignard's opinion this is due to the linalool and estagole, the amplitude reduction due to linalool, and the phase shortening due to both.
''Callosobruchus maculatus
''Callosobruchus maculatus'' is a species of beetles known commonly as the cowpea weevil or cowpea seed beetle.Tran, B. M. D. and P. F. Credland. (1995)Consequences of inbreeding for the cowpea seed beetle, ''Callosobruchus maculatus'' (F.) (Cole ...
'', a pest which affects cowpea
The cowpea (''Vigna unguiculata'') is an annual herbaceous legume from the genus ''Vigna''. Its tolerance for sandy soil and low rainfall have made it an important crop in the semiarid regions across Africa and Asia. It requires very few inputs, ...
, is repelled by the essential oil. The essential oil mixed with kaolin
Kaolinite ( ) is a clay mineral, with the chemical composition Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4. It is an important industrial mineral. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet of silica () linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral s ...
is both an adulticide and an ovicide, effective for three months in against ''C. maculatus'' in cowpea. The thrips '' Frankliniella occidentalis'' and ''Thrips tabaci
''Thrips tabaci'' is a species of very small insect in the genus ''Thrips'' in the order Thysanoptera. It is commonly known as the onion thrips, the potato thrips, the tobacco thrips or the cotton seedling thrips. It is an agricultural pest that ...
'' are repelled by ''O. basilicum'', making this useful as an insect repellent
An insect repellent (also commonly called "bug spray") is a substance applied to skin, clothing, or other surfaces to discourage insects (and arthropods in general) from landing or climbing on that surface. Insect repellents help prevent and cont ...
in other crops. The pests '' Sitophilus oryzae'', ''Stegobium paniceum
The drugstore beetle (''Stegobium paniceum''), also known as the bread beetle, biscuit beetle, and misnamed as the biscuit weevil (despite not being a true weevil), is a tiny, brown beetle that can be found infesting a wide variety of dried pla ...
'', ''Tribolium castaneum
The red flour beetle (''Tribolium castaneum'') is a species of beetle in the family Tenebrionidae, the darkling beetles. It is a worldwide pest of stored products, particularly food grains, and a model organism for ethological and food safety re ...
'', and '' Bruchus chinensis'' are evaluated by Deshpande et al. 1974 and '77.
Nematicide
The essential oil is found by Malik et al. 1987 and Sangwan et al. 1990 to be nematicidal against '' Tylenchulus semipenetrans'', ''Meloidogyne javanica
''Meloidogyne javanica'' is a species of plant-pathogenic nematodes. It is one of the tropical root-knot nematodes and a major agricultural pest in many countries. It has many hosts. ''Meloidogyne javanica'' reproduces by obligatory mitotic part ...
'', ''Anguina tritici
''Anguina tritici'' (ear-cockle nematode, seed-gall nematode, seed and leaf gall nematode, wheat gall nematode, wheat seed gall nematode, wheat seed-gall nematode, wheat seed and leaf gall nematode) is a plant pathogenic nematode.
History and ...
'', and ''Heterodera cajani
''Heterodera cajani'' (Pigeonpea cyst nematode, Cowpea cyst nematode) is a plant pathogenic nematode affecting pigeonpeas, which is cited as an invasive species
An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism tha ...
''.
Bacterial and fungal inhibition
The essential oil of the leaf and/or terminal shoot
In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or embryonic shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormant condition, or it may form a shoot immediately. Buds may be specia ...
is effective against a large number of bacterial species including ''Lactiplantibacillus plantarum
''Lactiplantibacillus plantarum'' (formerly ''Lactobacillus arabinosus'' and ''Lactobacillus plantarum'') is a widespread member of the genus ''Lactiplantibacillus'' and commonly found in many fermented food products as well as anaerobic plant ma ...
'' and ''Pseudomonas
''Pseudomonas'' is a genus of Gram-negative, Gammaproteobacteria, belonging to the family Pseudomonadaceae and containing 191 described species. The members of the genus demonstrate a great deal of metabolic diversity and consequently are able to ...
'' spp. The essential oil of leaf and/or terminal shoot
In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or embryonic shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormant condition, or it may form a shoot immediately. Buds may be specia ...
is also effective against a large number of fungal species including ''Aspergillus
' () is a genus consisting of several hundred mold species found in various climates worldwide.
''Aspergillus'' was first catalogued in 1729 by the Italian priest and biologist Pier Antonio Micheli. Viewing the fungi under a microscope, Mich ...
'' spp., '' Candida'' spp., ''Mucor
''Mucor'' is a microbial genus of approximately 40 species of molds in the family Mucoraceae. Species are commonly found in soil, digestive systems, plant surfaces, some cheeses like Tomme de Savoie, rotten vegetable matter and iron oxide resi ...
'' spp., and ''Geotrichum candidum
''Geotrichum candidum'' is a fungus which is a member of the human microbiome, notably associated with skin, sputum, and faeces where it occurs in 25–30% of specimens. It is common in soil and has been isolated from soil collected around the w ...
''.
Culture
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. Jewish folklore suggests it adds strength while fasting. However, Herbalist
Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remedies ...
Nicholas Culpeper
Nicholas Culpeper (18 October 1616 – 10 January 1654) was an English botanist, herbalist, physician and astrologer.Patrick Curry: "Culpeper, Nicholas (1616–1654)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford, UK: OUP, 2004) His book ...
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
''Dianthus caryophyllus'' (), commonly known as the carnation or clove pink, is a species of ''Dianthus''. It is likely native to the Mediterranean region but its exact range is unknown due to extensive cultivation for the last 2,000 years.Med ...
, to a sweetheart, on the religious holidays of John the Baptist (see ) and Saint Anthony of Padua
Anthony of Padua ( it, Antonio di Padova) or Anthony of Lisbon ( pt, António/Antônio de Lisboa; born Fernando Martins de Bulhões; 15 August 1195 – 13 June 1231) was a Portuguese Catholic priest and friar of the Franciscan Order. He was b ...
. 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
''Isabella, or the Pot of Basil'' (1818) is a narrative poem by John Keats adapted from a story in Boccaccio's '' Decameron'' (IV, 5). It tells the tale of a young woman whose family intend to marry her to "some high noble and his olive trees", ...
", 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
''Isabella and the Pot of Basil'' is a painting completed in 1868 by William Holman Hunt depicting a scene from John Keats's poem ''Isabella, or the Pot of Basil''. It depicts the heroine Isabella caressing the basil pot in which she had buried ...
'' by William Holman Hunt
William Holman Hunt (2 April 1827 – 7 September 1910) was an English painter and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. His paintings were notable for their great attention to detail, vivid colour, and elaborate symbolism ...
.
Basil has religious significance in the Greek Orthodox Church, where it is used to sprinkle holy water. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church ( bg, Българска православна църква, translit=Balgarska pravoslavna tsarkva), legally the Patriarchate of Bulgaria ( bg, Българска патриаршия, links=no, translit=Balgarsk ...
, Serbian Orthodox Church, Macedonian Orthodox Church and Romanian Orthodox Church
The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates ...
use basil ( bg, босилек, ; sr, босиљак, ; mk, босилек, ) 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.
See also
* Basileus
''Basileus'' ( el, ) is a Greek term and title that has signified various types of monarchs in history. In the English-speaking world it is perhaps most widely understood to mean "monarch", referring to either a "king" or an "emperor" and al ...
* List of basil cultivars
Basil cultivars are cultivated varieties of basil. They are used in a variety of ways: as culinary herbs, landscape plants, healing herbs, teas, and worship implements. All true basils are species of the genus '' Ocimum''. The genus is particularl ...
References
External links
Basil: Knowing and Growing from the New York Botanical Garden
{{sister bar, auto=yes, commons=Ocimum basilicum, wikt=basil
Articles containing video clips
Flora of Asia
Flora of New Guinea
Herbs
Indian spices
Insect repellents
Mediterranean cuisine
Medicinal plants of Asia
Ocimum
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus