J 



66 Labiates. [Ocimum. 



few hairs; whorls rather distant, bracts conspicuous, petiolatc 

 lanceolate, acute, ciliate with loni^ white hair, racemes short> 

 crisply hairy; cal. hairy, upper lip squarely rotundatc, broader 

 than long, flat, ciliate, lower lip longer than upper, teeth 

 lanceolate, mucronate ; achenes ovoid, smooth. 



Waste and cultivated ground ; very common, but doubtfully native. 

 Fl. August-October ; white. 



In most Tropical countries, wild or cultivated. 



Leaves pleasantly aromatic when bruised ; much grown in native 

 gardens. O. miniiniim^ L. Sp. PI. 597, is Rata-tala of Herm. Mus. 41 

 (Fl. Zeyl. n. 511), and almost certainly this same species; but there is no 

 specimen in Herm. Herb. 



O. basilici/in, L., Suva?ida-tala^ S., is the ' Sweet Basil ' — a herb much 

 grown in native gardens. Our form is generally perfectly smooth, with 

 the leaves copiously gland-dotted, and with a very sweet aromatic scent 

 when bruised. The flowers are white and large for the genus. A variety 

 {O. thyrsijiorutu^ L.) is figured in Wight, Ic. t. 868. Hermann, Mus. 61, 

 gives the S. nan^e as Tala-kola. 



2. O. sanctum,* L. Mant. \. 85 (1767). Maduru-tala, S. 



Burm. Thes. 175. O. inodorum, Burm. Fl. Ind. 130. Thw. Enum. 

 236. C. P. 249. 



Fl. B. Ind. iv. 609. Burm. Thes. t. 80, f. 2. 



Annual, stem 1-2 ft., often slightly woody below, branches 

 numerous, spreading, sub-quadrangular, with spreading hair, 

 usually purplish; 1. small, i-ii in., oval, obtuse at both ends, 

 apiculate, usually distantly and coarsely serrate, undulate, 

 softly and finely pubescent on both sides, minutely gland- 

 dotted, petiole ^ in., slender, hairy ; fl. very small, whorls close, 

 bracts small, very broad, acuminate, hairy, racemes long, 

 narrow, unbranched, hairy; cal. with long white hair, upper 

 lip rotundate, apiculate, flat, lat. segm. broad, tipped with 

 short straight awn, lowest pair long, sharp, curved upwards; 

 cor. slightly exceeding cal., upper lip pubescent on back, 

 achenes oblong-ovoid, dull, pale brown. 



Waste places and garden ground; very common. Fl. June-Aug.; 

 purplish-pink. 



Throughout Tropical Asia to Australia. 



The scent of the bruised leaves is faintly sourly aromatic ; they are 

 used in medicine in cases of cough and catarrh. 



3. O. adscendens, Willd. Sp. PI. iii. 166 (1800). 

 Trim. Syst. Cat. Ceyl. 69. C. P. 3999- 



Fl. B. Ind. iv. 609 (not given for Ceylon). 



Annual, 6-12 in., branches wide-spreading, slender, slightly 

 puberulous, 1. small, \-\ in., oblong, tapering to base, obtuse, 



* This is the ' Tulasi ' or 'Tulsi' plant worshipped by the Hindoos 

 throughout India, especially by Vishnuites. 



