o. 
O C Y 
A K. See Quercus. 
OBELISCOTHECA. See Rud- 
BECKIA. 
O C H R U S. See Pisum. 
OCULUS CHRIST I. See Hormxnum Syl- 
VESTRE. 
OCYMUM. Tourn. Inft. R. H. 203. tab .96. Lin. 
Gen. Plant. 651. Bafil; in French, Bafilic. 
The Characters are. 
The empalement of the flower is Jhort , permanent , of one 
leaf , divided into two lips ; upper lip is plain , bifid, 
and heart-fhaped ; the under is cut into four acute fegments. 
The flower is of the lip kind , of one petal inverted. It 
has a Jhort fpreading tube ; the rifling lip is broad , and 
cut into four obtufe equal parts ; the reflexed lip is long , 
narrow , flawed. It hath four ftamina in the lower 
lip , which are deflex ed, two of which are a little longer 
than the other , terminated by half-moon-fhaped fummits. 
The germen is divided into four parts , fupporting a fen- 
der ftyle, fltuated with the ftamina , crowned by a bifid 
ftigma. The germen afterward become four naked feeds 
inclofed in the empalement. 
This genus of plants is ranged in the firft fedlion of 
Linnaeus’s fourteenth clafs, which contains thofe 
plants whofe flowers have two long and two fhorter 
ftamina, and their feeds have no covering. 
The Species are, 
1. Ocymum ( Bafllicum ) foliis ovatis glabris, calycibus 
ciliatis. Hort. Cliff. 3 1 5. Bafllwilh oval fmooth leaves , 
and hairy empalement s. Ocymum caryophyllatum 
maius. C. B. P.226. Greater Clove- Icented, or common 
Bafil., 
2. Ocymum ( Minimum ) foliis ovatis integerrimis. Hort. 
Upfal. 169. Bafil with oval entire leaves. Ocymum 
minimum. C. B. P. 226. The leaf Bafil , commonly 
called Bufh Bafil. 
3. Ocymum ( Medium ) hirfutum, foliis ovato-lanceolatis 
acuminatis dentatis. Hairy Bafil with oval fpear-fhaped 
leaves which are indented, and end in acute points. Ocy- 
mum medium vulgatius & nigrum. J. B. 3. p. 2. 
247. Common middle black Bafil. 
4. Ocymum ( Americanum ) foliis ovato-oblongis ferratis, 
bradeis cordatis reflexis concavis fpicis filiformibus. 
Lin. Sp. Plant. 833. Bafil with oval, oblong, flawed 
leaves , and heart-fhaped, concave, reflexed braElea. 
5. Ocymum ( Campechianum ) foliis lanceolatis fubtus in- 
canis, petiolis longifiimis villofis floribus peduncula- 
tis. Bafil with fpear-fhaped leaves, which are hoary on 
their under fide, and very long hairy foot-ftalks to the 
flowers. Ocymum Campechianum odoratiflirnum. 
Houft. MSS. The fweeteft-fcented Bafil of Campeachy. 
6 . Ocymum ( Frutefcens ) racemis fecundis laterahbus, 
caule credo, Lin. Sp. Plant. 832. Bafil with fruitful 
fpikes of flowers on the fide of the ftalk, which are erebt. 
Ocymum Zeylanicum, peresnne, odoratiflirnum lati- 
folium. Burm. Zeyl. 174. tab. 80. fol 1. Sweet-fcented 
perennial Bafil of Ceylon , with broad leaves . 
The three firft’ forts grow naturally in India and Per- 
fia •, of thefe there are a great variety, which differ in 
the fize, fhape, and colour of their leaves, as alio in 
their odour •, but as thefe differences are accidental, 
' fo I have not enumerated them, being convinced from 
repeated experiments, that the feeds of one plant will 
produce many varieties. 
The firft fort riles with a branching ftalk a foot and a 
half high j the leaves are large, oval, and fmooth •, 
'' • * . J; -’ 
O C Y 
the ftalk is hairy, and four-cornered ; the leaves are 
placed by pairs oppofite, and the branches alfo come 
out in the fame manner ; the ftalk is terminated by a 
whorled fpike of flowers, which is five or fix inches 
long, and tne branches are alfo terminated by fhort 
fpikes of flowers of the fame fort ; the whole plant 
has a ftrong fcent of Cloves. 
Of this there are the following varieties : 
1. The fringed-leaved Bafil with purple leaves. 
2. The green fringed-leaved Bafil. 
3. The green Bafil with ftudded leaves. 
4. The large-leaved Bafil. 
The fecond fort is a low bufhy plant, which feldom 
rifes more than fix inches high, fpreading out into 
branches from the bottom, forming an orbicular 
head ; the leaves are fmall, oval, and fmooth, hand- 
ing oppofite on fhort foot-ftalks. The flowers are 
produced in whorls toward the top of the branches ; 
they are fmaller than thofe of the former fort, and are 
feldom fucceeded by ripe feeds in England. 
Of this there are fome varieties, as 
1, The fmalleft Bafil with black purple leaves. 
2. The fmalleft Bafil with variable leaves. 
The third fort is the common Bafil which is ufed in 
medicine, and alfo in the kitchen, particularly by the 
French cooks, who make great ufe of it in their foups 
and fauces. This rifes about ten inches high, fend- 
ing out branches by pairs oppofite, from the bottom; 
the ftalks and branches are four-cornered ; the leaves 
are oval, fpear-fhaped, ending in acute points, and 
are indented on their edges ; the whole plant is hairy, 
and has a ftrong fcent of Cloves, too powerful for 
moft perfons, but to fome it is very agreeable : the 
whole plant is an ingredient in the compound Briony- 
water. 
There are fome varieties of this fpecies, viz. 
1. Common Bafil with very dark green leaves, and 
a Violet-coloured flower. 
2. Curled-leaved Bafil with fhort fpikes of flowers. 
3. Narrow- leaved Bafil fmelling like Fennel. 
4. Middle Bafil with a fcent of Citron. 
5. Bafil with ftudded leaves. 
6. Bafil with leaves of three colours. 
The fourth fort grows naturally in India; this rifes 
with a branching italic a foot and a half high, which 
is taper, and of a purplifh colour ; the leaves are 
fhort and hairy ; they are of an oval oblong figure* 
ending in obtufe points, and are fawed on their edges, 
(landing upon pretty long foot-ftalks. The ftalks 
are terminated by three fpikes of flowers, that in the 
middle being longer than the other two ; the fpikes 
are narrow, and the flower have fhort foot-ftalks ; 
under each whorl of flowers are two fmall leaves (or 
bradtea) placed oppofite, which are heart-fhaped, con- 
cave, and reflexed. The flowers are fmall, and in 
fome plants are of a purplifh colour, but in general 
they are white ; their empalements are fmooth, and 
cut into five parts at the top ; the ftyle of the flower 
is longer than the petal, and the w r hole plant has a 
ftrong, fweet, aromatic odour. 
The fifth fort rifes with an upright ftalk near two feet 
high, fending out fometimes two, and at others four 
branches towards the top, oppofite, garnifhed with 
fpear-fhaped leaves about three inches long, and one 
broad in the middle, lefiening at both ends to a point ; 
their foot-ftalks are two inches long, and are hairy. 
The- 
