440 XCYIII. LABIAT.E. 



mucilaginous when moistened, enclosed in the enlarged membranous 

 veined strongly recurved calyx. — Disteib. Throughout the warmer 

 regions of both hemispheres ; species 60. 



Pedicels as long as or longer than the calyx ; 2 lower calyx- 

 teeth longer than the upper hp 1. 0. sanctum. 



Pedicels shorter than the calyx. 



Lower calyx-teeth longer than the upper lip. 



Bracts stalked 2. 0. canum. 



Bracts sessile 3. 0. adscendens. 



Lower calyx-teeth shorter than the upper lip 4. 0. gratissimum, 



1. Ocimum sanctum, Linn. Mant. v. 1 (1767) p. 85. Annual, 

 1-2 ft. high, nnich branched; stems and branches usually purplish, 

 subquadrangular, sometimes woody below, clothed v^■itll soft spreading 

 hairs. Leaves 1-2 by f-1^ in., elliptic-oblong, obtuse or acute, entire 

 or serrate, pubescent on both sides, minutely gland-dotted, base obtuse 

 or acute; petioles |-1 in. long, slender, hairy. Flowers in racemes 

 6-8 in. long in close whorls ; bracts nearly 1 in. long and almost as 

 broad as long, broadly ovate with a long slender acumen, ciliate ; pedicels 

 longer than the flowering calyx, slender, pubescent. Calyx g— ^ in. long 

 in flower, pubescent, reaching i in. long in fruit ; upper lip broadly ob- 

 ovate or suborbicular, much reflexed, very shortly apiculate ; lower lip 

 longer than the upper, the teeth lanceolate at the base, the 2 lateral with 

 short straight, the 2 central with long slender awns which project 

 beyond the upper lip and are much curved upwards. Corolla \ in. long, 

 purplish ; up|)er lip pubescent on the back. Stamens exserted ; filaments 

 slender, the upper pair with a small bearded appendage at the base. 

 Nutlets -rj-^j in. long, broadly ellipsoid, nearly smooth, yellow with small 

 black markings. 11. B. I. v. 4, p. 609 : Grab. Cat. p. 147 ; Dalz. & 

 Gibs. p. 204; Trim. Fl. Ceyl. v. 3, p. 306; A\^oodr. in Journ. Bumb. 

 Nat. V. 12 (1899) p. 360; Prain, Beng. PI. p. 842 ; Watt, Diet. Econ. 

 Prod. V. 5, p. 443. — Veiin. TulsJd ; Tulas ; Kdla-tuhln. 



The Holy Basil, the most sacred plant in the Hindu religion, very doubtfully indi- 

 genous. It is grown in or near almost every Hindu house and in temples. Ihe 

 Brahmins hold it sacred to the gods Krishna and Vishnu. The leaves hare expec- 

 torant proi)erties, and their expressed juice is employed for a variety of purposes in 

 native medicine. See Watt, Diet. Econ. Prod. 1. c. — Distkib. Tliroughout India (culti- 

 vated but doubtfully indigenous); Malay Archipelago, Aii-slralia, \V. Asia, Arabia. 



2. Ocimum canum, Sims, in Bot. Mag. (1 824) t. 2452. Herbaceous, 

 6-24 in. high, much branched ; stems and branches subquadrangular, 

 striate, the younger pubescent. Leaves 1-1 g by g-g in., elliptic- 

 lanceolate, acute at both ends, glabrous or nearly so, entire or shallowly 

 serrate, gland-dotted; petioles |-1 in. long, slender, hairy. Flowers iu 

 rather close wliorls, about 6 in a ^^ horl, in spiciform racemes 3-8 in. 

 long; bracts elliptic-lanceolate, stalked, ciliate with long white hairs ; 

 pedicels shorter than the calyx, sometimes almost 0. Calyx pubescent, 

 ■I- in. long ; upper lip suborbicidar, rather broader than long, flat, shortly 

 mucronate, reticulately veined, cilijite ; lower li]) with 4 lanceolate- 

 subulate teeth, the 2 central teeth longer than the lateral and exceeding 

 the upper lip of the calyx. Corolla ^ in. long, white ; ui)per lip broadly 

 oblong, 4-toothed at the subtruncate apex, -f^— |- in. broad ; lower lip 

 longer than the upper, ~}fj in. broad, oblong, obtuse. Stamens much 



