390 O C I 
and forming an orbicular bead. Flowers in whorls to¬ 
wards the top of the branches, fmaller than thofe of the 
preceding, and feldom f'ucceeded by ripe feeds, in Eng¬ 
land. Varieties are : a.. Smalleft bafil, with black purple 
leaves. ( 3 . With variable leaves. Natives of the Eaft 
Indies. Cultivated by Gerard in 1596. They are both 
annual plants ; and flower in July and Auguft. 
8. Ocimum capitellatutn, or headed bafil : leaves ovate, 
flowers aggregate, petioles lateral. Stem oleraceous, 
bluntly-quadrangular, two-grooved, fparingly branched, 
a foot high. Native of China. 
9. Ocimum fan 61 urn, purple-ftalked bafil, or facred 
herb: leaves fomewhat oblong blunt ferrate waved, flem 
rough-haired, bradfes cordate. Stem a foot and a half high, 
ereft, brachiate, roundifn, fligbtly channelled on each 
fide, dark purple, muricated with tubercles having a 
whitehairon them. Corolla bright purple, fcarcely larger 
than the calyx; filaments white; antherce yellowifh. 
If has fcarcely any fmell. Native of the Eaft Indies. 
This, as well as the preceding, is annual. Introduced in 
1758 by Hugh duke of Northumberland: flowers in 
September. 
to. Ocimum Americanum, or American bafil : leaves 
fublanceolate acuminate*ubferrate, racemes round, flem 
fubherbacecus. From a branched root fprings an upright 
fialk, bluntly four-cornered, fmooth, fomewhat woody at 
bottom, perennial and browni(h, pale above with a tinge 
of green. Leaves fmooth, appearing dotted on both (ides 
when examined by a glafs. The whole plant has a very 
grateful fmell. Native of Martinico. 
it. Ocimum Campeachianum, or Campeachy bafil: 
leaves lanceolate, hoary underneath ; petioles very long, 
villofe; flowers peduncled. This rif'es with an upright 
ftalk near two feet high, fending out two or four branches 
towards the top. Leaves about three inches long, and 
one inch broad in the middle, leflening at both ends to a 
point, on foot-ftalks two inches in length. Flowers in 
whorled terminating fpikes ; each peduncle fuftaining 
three flowers, which are white, and about the fame fize 
as thofe of common bafil. The whole plant has a ftrong 
aromatic odour. It grows naturally at Campeachy. 
12. Ocimum tenuiflorum, or flender-fpiked bafil: leaves 
ovate-oblong ferrate, bradles cordate reflex concave, 
fpikes filiform. Stem from one to two feet high, round- 
ifli, purple, brachiate, having fpreading hairs fcattered 
over it: flowers fubfefille ; corolla fmall, purple; upper 
lip four-cleft, lower Ample : but the flowers are fo fmall 
as fcarcely to be vifible to the naked eye : they begin to 
open from the top of the fpike. Native of Malabar, and 
other parts of the Eaft Indies. 
13. Ocimum polyftachyon, or many-fpikedbafil: corollas 
four-cleft ; racemes leaflefs, nodding at top. Stem erect, 
two feet high, brachiate, four-cornered; the corners 
fharp, rugged. This cannot be a Nepeta, on account of 
the lower lip not being crenate ; nor a Mentha, becaufe 
the ftamensare declined ; for this reafon it is an Ocimum, 
though there are no teeth to the filaments. Native of 
the Ealt Indies, and perennial, as marked by Linmsus: 
according to the Kew Catalogue, it is annual, and flowers 
in July and Auguft. It was introduced by John earl of 
Bute in 1783. 
14. Ocimum ferpyllifolium, or wild thyme-leaved ba¬ 
l’d -. leaves linear-lanceolate quite entire, genitals very 
long. This is a very branching llirub; the branches 
divaricating, villofe and hoary. Leaves lanceolate, very 
finely villofe, hoary, fmall, like thofe of wild thyme. 
15. Ocimum grandiflorum, or great-flowered bafil: 
flem fhrubby, leaves ovate ferrate, genitals very long. 
This is a fragrant underflirub, three feet in height. Stems 
diffufed or almoft ere< 5 t, round, knotty, cloven, afli-co- 
loured. Leaves decuflately oppofite, fliarp at both ends, 
entire at the bafe, fomewhat vifcid and rugged, having 
almoft Ample nerves ; they are fragrant and permanent, 
from twenty-four to thirty lines in length, and from 
twelve to fifteen in breadth. Flowers oppofite in threes 
M U M. 
on fnort peduncles, fpreading a little, white, tinged with 
very pale purple, fifteen lines long comprehending the 
ftamens, which are twice as long as the corolla; calyx 
fomewhat bell-ftiaped, eredi, ftriated, villofe, brownifh, 
two lines in length; clofed by the converging of the 
fides of the lower lip, and thus performing the office of a 
pericarp. This fpecies is fufficiently diftinguilhed by 
the largenefs of the flowers, and the length of the ftamens. 
It was found by Forfkahl in Egypt; and was brought 
from Abyifinia by Bruce, with the Brucea, Pledlranthus 
punftatus, apd other fcarce plants, before the year 1775. 
It flowers at the end of fummer, but feldom perfedls 
feeds. 
16. Ocimum menthoides, or mint-leaved bafil: leaves 
linear-lanceolate-ferrate. Stem a foot high, upright, bra¬ 
chiate, four-cornered. Native of the ifland of Ceylon s 
and other parts of the Eaft Indies. Introduced in 1783 
by John earl of Bute. It flowers in July. 
17. Ocimum molle, or heart-leaved bafil: leaves ovate 
cordate acute ferrate wrinkled, finufes clofed, bradtcs 
roundifh-wedge-form. This plant is annual, pubefcent, 
and fweet-fmelling. Stem thick, bluntly quadrangular. 
Corolla whitifli-violet; tube the length of the calyx. 
Native of the Eaft Indies, where it was found by John. 
Gerard Koenig, M.D. Introduced in 1781 by fir Jolech 
Banks: it flowers in September and Odtoher. 
18. Ocimum fcutellarioides, or fickle-lhaped bafil : co¬ 
rollas (ickle-fhaped, pedicels branched. It differs from 
its congeners in the flower fo much as to be almoft of a 
diftindl genus. Native of the Eaft Indies, and of the ifland 
of Tanna in the South Seas. 
19. Ocimum proftratum, or proftrate bafil : ftems prof- 
trate, leaves elliptic marked with lines. This is an an¬ 
nual plant, with the flem a fpan high, eredt, eight- 
grooved, with nodding hairs. Leaves petioled, fomewhat 
hairy, acutely ferrate, an inch long. Corolla very fmall, 
bluifh. Native of the Eaft Indies. 
20. Ocimum acutum, or fharp-leaved bafil: racemes 
filiform, leaves ovate acuminate ferrate, bradles rough- 
lfaired. Stem upright, fmooth, even. Leaves entire at 
bottom, fmooth, pale underneath, veined, two inches 
wide, three inches long. 
21. Ocimum crifpum, or curl-leaved bafil: racemes 
terminating, leaves ovate ferrate, curled, calyxes hifpid. 
Stem upright, villofe, branched. Leaves acuminate, en¬ 
tire at bottom, fmooth, purple, an inch long. It is cul¬ 
tivated about Nagafaki, and flowers there in Odtober and 
November. An infufion of the herb is prefcribed in 
colds and the rheumatifm ; and the Japanefe colour the 
roots of black radifhes, and turnip, and various fruits,- 
of a deep red, with a decoction of it. 
22. Ocimum rugofum, or wrinkled bafil: racemes ter- * 
minating; leaves ovate acute ferrate, wrinkled underneath. 
Stem grooved, very finely tomentofe, two feet high and 
more. 
23. Ocimum fcabrum, or rugged bafil: racemes fimple, 
eredt; leaves ovate, dotted underneath. Stem upright, 
panicled, a foot high and more; that and the whole plant 
hairy and rugged. Thunberg bad named this pundtatum 
in his Flora Japanica; but altered it to fcabrum, there 
being a fpecies fo named already in the Supplementum 
Plantarum of the younger Linnasus, and in the fourteenth 
edition of the Syftema Vegetabilium. 
24. Ociinum inflexum, or flexuous bafil : panicle ter¬ 
minating racemed, Item and branches flexuofe. Stern 
herbaceous; both that and the branches upright and 
flexuofe, bent in at top, very finely tomentofe, n foot 
high. Leaves ovate, acute, ferrate, very finely fcabrous, 
half an inch long. The powder is ufed by the Japanefe 
to burn incenfe to their idols. 
25. Ocimum virgatum, or rod-like bafil: racemes 
whorled rod-like, leaves oblong ferrate. Stem deeply 
grooved, very finely tomentofe, flexuofe-eredl, branched. 
Leaves obovate oblong, very finely tomentofe, an inch 
long and more. Grows near Nagafaki; in Japanefe it is 
called 
