Ocimum americanum

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Ocimum americanum
ChristianBauer stalk of basil.jpg
A flowering stalk of O. americanum
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Ocimum
Species:
O. americanum
Binomial name
Ocimum americanum
L.
Synonyms [1]
  • Ocimum albumRoxb.
  • Ocimum brachiatumBlume
  • Ocimum canumSims
  • Ocimum dichotomumHochst. ex Benth.
  • Ocimum dinteriBriq.
  • Ocimum fluminenseVell.
  • Ocimum fruticulosumBurch.
  • Ocimum hispidulumSchumach. & Thonn.
  • Ocimum incanescensMart.
  • Ocimum stamineumSims
  • Ocimum thymoidesBaker

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. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]

Contents

Description and uses

It is a hairy annual herbaceous plant that grows up to 40 cm tall, with toothed, opposite leaves and small, white or purple flowers in clusters. [13] The plant has a long taproot that extends deep into the ground. The entire plant is highly aromatic, with an odor comparable to citrus. As such, it can be used for culinary purposes in similar ways to sweet basil (O. basilicum). [14] It is also used for essential oil whose scent appears to be a natural blend between that of lime peels and that of O. basilicum. [15] The plant has medicinal properties as well. [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lamiaceae</span> Family of flowering plants that includes sage and mint

The Lamiaceae or Labiatae are a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory, marjoram, oregano, hyssop, thyme, lavender, and perilla, as well as other medicinal herbs such as catnip, salvia, bee balm, wild dagga, and oriental motherwort. Some species are shrubs, trees, or, rarely, vines. Many members of the family are widely cultivated, not only for their aromatic qualities, but also their ease of cultivation, since they are readily propagated by stem cuttings. Besides those grown for their edible leaves, some are grown for decorative foliage. Others are grown for seed, such as Salvia hispanica (chia), or for their edible tubers, such as Plectranthus edulis, Plectranthus esculentus, Plectranthus rotundifolius, and Stachys affinis. Many are also grown ornamentally, notably coleus, Plectranthus, and many Salvia species and hybrids.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basil</span> Important culinary herb

Basil, also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" refers to the variety also known as sweet basil or Genovese basil. Basil is native to tropical regions from Central Africa to Southeast Asia. In temperate climates basil is treated as an annual plant, however, basil can be grown as a short-lived perennial or biennial in warmer horticultural zones with tropical or Mediterranean climates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albahaca</span> Index of plants with the same common name

Albahaca may refer to:

<i>Ocimum</i> Genus of flowering plants

Ocimum is a genus of aromatic annual and perennial herbs and shrubs in the family Lamiaceae, native to the tropical and warm temperate regions of all 6 inhabited continents, with the greatest number of species in Africa. It is the genus of basil and its best known species are the cooking herb great basil, O. basilicum, and the medicinal herb tulsi, O. tenuiflorum.

<i>Furcraea foetida</i> Species of flowering plant

Furcraea foetida is a species of flowering plant native to the Caribbean and northern South America. It is widely cultivated and reportedly naturalized in many places.

<i>Ocimum tenuiflorum</i> Species of flowering plant

Ocimum tenuiflorum, commonly known as holy basil or tulsi, is an aromatic perennial plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is native to tropical and subtropical regions of Australia, Malesia, Asia, and the western Pacific. It is widely cultivated throughout the Southeast Asian tropics. This plant has escaped from cultivation and has naturalized in many tropical regions of the Americas. It is an agricultural and environmental weed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thai basil</span> Basil widely used in Southeast Asia

Thai basil called káu-chàn-thah in Taiwan, is a type of basil native to Southeast Asia that has been cultivated to provide distinctive traits. Widely used throughout Southeast Asia, its flavor, described as anise- and licorice-like and slightly spicy, is more stable under high or extended cooking temperatures than that of sweet basil. Thai basil has small, narrow leaves, purple stems, and pink-purple flowers.

<i>Basilicum</i> Genus of flowering plants

Basilicum is a genus of plants in the family Lamiaceae, first described in 1802. It contains only one known species, Basilicum polystachyon, native to Africa, Madagascar, southern Asia, New Guinea, Australia, and various islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosmarinic acid</span> Chemical compound found in a variety of plants

Rosmarinic acid, named after rosemary, is a polyphenol constituent of many culinary herbs, including rosemary, perilla, sage, mint, and basil.

Mrs. Burns' Lemon basil is an heirloom cultivar of sweet basil from New Mexico in the United States. Compared to lemon basil, which is a different species of basil, in Mrs. Burns lemon basil the lemon flavor is more intense, the leaves are larger, and the plant itself is more robust.

<i>Holmskioldia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Holmskioldia is a genus of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the Himalayas but widely cultivated as an ornamental and naturalized in many places It contains only one known species, Holmskioldia sanguinea, commonly called the Chinese hat plant, cup-and-saucer-plant or mandarin's hat.

<i>Coleus scutellarioides</i> Species of flowering plant

Coleus scutellarioides, commonly known as coleus, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to southeast Asia through to Australia. Typically growing to 60–75 cm (24–30 in) tall and wide, it is a bushy, woody-based evergreen perennial, widely grown for the highly decorative variegated leaves found in cultivated varieties. Another common name is painted nettle, reflecting its relationship to deadnettles, which are in the same family. The synonyms Coleus blumei, Plectranthus scutellarioides and Solenostemon scutellarioides are also widely used for this species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Methyl cinnamate</span> Chemical compound

Methyl cinnamate is the methyl ester of cinnamic acid and is a white or transparent solid with a strong, aromatic odor. It is found naturally in a variety of plants, including in fruits, like strawberry, and some culinary spices, such as Sichuan pepper and some varieties of basil. Eucalyptus olida has the highest known concentrations of methyl cinnamate (98%) with a 2–6% fresh weight yield in the leaf and twigs.

<i>Ocimum gratissimum</i> Basil species, strong cloves smell

Ocimum gratissimum, also known as clove basil, African basil, and in Hawaii as wild basil, 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.

<i>Lumnitzera</i> Genus of trees in the Combretaceae family growing from Africa to Asia to northern Australia

Lumnitzera is an Indo-West Pacific mangrove genus in the family Combretaceae. An English common name is black mangrove. Lumnitzera, named after the German botanist, Stephan Lumnitzer (1750-1806), occurs in mangroves from East Africa to the Western Pacific, and northern Australia.

<i>Clerodendrum speciosissimum</i> Species of flowering plant

Clerodendrum speciosissimum is a tropical shrub of the family Lamiaceae, native to Indonesia and Papuasia, but now naturalized in parts of Latin America, Africa, the Caribbean, Seychelles, and Florida.

<i>Hoslundia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Hoslundia is a genus of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, first described in 1804. It contains only one known species, Hoslundia opposita. It is widespread across much of sub-Saharan Africa including Madagascar.

<i>Campylosiphon</i> Genus of flowering plants

Campylosiphon is a genus of flowering plants in the Burmanniaceae, first described as a genus in 1882. It is native to tropical western and central Africa, as well as northern South America.

References

  1. The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species , retrieved 11 June 2016
  2. Ocimum americanum var. americanum JCU Australia, 19 October 2015, retrieved 7 August 2021
  3. USDA GRIN Taxonomy , retrieved 11 June 2016
  4. "World Checklist of Selected Plant Families: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew".
  5. Flora of China Vol. 17 Page 296, 灰罗勒 hui luo le, Ocimum americanum Linnaeus, Cent. Pl. 1, 15. 1755.
  6. Berhaut, J. (1975). Flore illustrée du Sénégal 4: 1-625. Gouvernement du Sénégal, Ministère du développement rural direction des eaux et forêta, Dakar.
  7. Boulvert, Y. (1977). Catalogue de la Flore de Centrafrique 2(1): 1-85. ORSTOM, Bangui.
  8. George, A.S., Orchard, A.E. & Hewson, H.J. (eds.) (1993). Oceanic islands 2. Flora of Australia 50: 1-606. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.
  9. Hokche, O., Berry, P.E. & Huber, O. (eds.) (2008). Nuevo Catálogo de la Flora Vascular de Venezuela: 1-859. Fundación Instituto Botánico de Venezuela.
  10. Figueiredo, E. & Smith, G.F. (2008). Plants of Angola. Strelitzia 22: 1-279. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
  11. Khanam, M. & Hassan, M.A. (2008). Lamiaceae. Flora of Bangladesh 58: 1-161. Bangladesh National Herbarium, Dhaka.
  12. Paton, A.J., Bramley, G., Ryding, O., Polhill, R., Harvey, Y., Iwarsson, M., Willis, F., Phillipson, P., Balkwill, K., Lukhoba, C., Otiend, D & Harley (2009). Lamiaceae (Labiatae). Flora of Tropical East Africa: 1-430.
  13. 1 2 "Ocimum americanum L. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  14. Lime Basil Information and facts Specialty Produce , retrieved 7 August 2021
  15. "E-Prosea Detail". proseanet.org. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  16. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-03-19. Retrieved 2014-12-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)