203 



CVI. LABIATE. 

 1. OCIMUM, Linn. 



1. O CANUM, Linn. Bot. Mag. t. 2452. Stem herbaceous, erect, 

 pubescent ; leaves petioled, ovate, narrowed at both ends, den- 

 ticulate or entire, rather hoary beneath ; petioles ciliated ; verticels 

 of the fruit bearing raceme, numerous, approximated ; calyx small, 

 a little ciliated ; corolla half longer than the calyx to double the 

 length. Very common; grows all over the world. Africa is sup- 

 posed to be its native country. Nearly allied to O basilicum, but 

 the flowers are only half the size. Syn. O americanum, Linn. 

 Amcen. 4, p 276; O album, Roxburgh and others; O stanimeum, 

 Bot. Mag. 2452. 



2. O BASILICUM, Linn. sp. p 833. Stem erect or ascending ; 

 leaves petioled, ovate or oblong, narrowed at the base, slightly 

 toothed, glabrous ; verticels of the fruit-bearing raceme separated 

 by a space longer than the calyx, or more rarely loosely approx- 

 imated in a branched raceme ; calyx ciliated ; corolla twice its 

 length. This species has been long in cultivation throughout 

 Asia and Africa. The Indian varieties are divided into Pilosum 

 and B. glabratum. In the former, the stem is ascending, much- 

 branched ; leaves small, oblong-entire; petioles and verticels very 

 hairy. In the latter, the stem is erect ; petioles and calyx scarcely 

 ciliated ; leaves scarcely dentate ; racemes elongated. 



3. O GRATISSIMUM, Linn. sp. p 832. Stem rather glabrous ; 

 leaves petioled, ovate-acute, crenated or coarsely toothed, narrowed 

 at the base; glabrous or pubescent along the veins; floral leaves 

 like bracts, lanceolate-acuminate, hastate at the base ; racemes 

 simple or slightly branched, pubescent; calyces pedicelled; lateral 

 teeth minute, upper united into a bimucronate lip ; corolla scarcely 

 longer than the calyx ; stamens exserted. A shrub, several feet 

 high ; racemes slender, many-flowered. Syn. O zeylanicum, 

 Burm. Thes. Zeyl. p 174; O frutescens, Mill. Diet; O petiolare, 

 Linn. Cam. Diet; O gratissimum, Jacq. Ic. rar. iii, p 495. 



4. O ADSCENDENS, Willd sp. iii, p 166. Stem prostrate; 

 branches pubescent; leaves petioled, ovate-oblong, obtuse, slightly 

 toothed, narrowed at the base, pubescent; floral leaves like bracts, 

 deciduous ; racemes simple ; calyx in fruit drooping, the tube 

 striated; wings of the upper tooth reaching to the middle of the 

 calyx; lateral teeth truncated, lower very shortly setaceous, 

 acuminated ; corolla twice the length of the calyx ; stamens much 

 exserted. Common all over India. O indicum, Roth. nov. sp. 

 p 273; Plectranthus indicus, Spr. syst. ii, 690; O cristatum, Roxb. 

 Hort. Bengh. p 65. Steins rising from a thick base 6 to 9 

 inches long. 



