Crops > Medicinal, herbs & drugs > Ocimum sp. wild basil, Samoa
Crops Medicinal, herbs & drugs Ocimum sp. wild basil, Samoa
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| April 2006. Could someone identify the common and scientific names of the plant (in foreground) in the photo? It has a minty smell, woody stem and grows to more than 2 m tall. This was asked by a member of the Agriculture Campus, University of the South Pacific, Samoa.
It was generally agreed to be an Ocimum species (wild basil) in the family Labiaceae. Several species were mentioned: O sanctum (holy basil); O basilicum (sweet basil); O temuiflorum and O gratissimum. The latter, which is a perennial shrub growing to 2.5 m, without a purple stem. O basilicum is an annual herb growing from 0.5-1 m; O tenuiflorum is an annual or perennial growing to 2 m, with a stem that is often purple.
O gratissimum was thought to be the closest to the plant depicted in the photos. It is native to Africa, Sri Lanka and the Indo-Malaysian archipelago, and an introduction to many Pacific countries.
Some species have medicinal properties and used for essential oils. |
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