Ocimum
(from Okimon, the old Greek name used by Theophrastus). Basil. Including Becium. SYN. Ocymum. ORD. Labiatae. A genus of half-hardy herbs, sub-shrubs, or small shrubs, broadly dispersed over the warm regions of the globe. Flowers often white, small, or mediocre; whorls six to ten-flowered, disposed in terminal, simple, or paniculate racemes; bracts rarely exceeding the flowers. Few of the species have any horticultural value, though O. Basilicum is largely grown in pots, on the Continent, for room decoration. For culture, &c., of the annual species, see Basil, Sweet. The shrubby kinds may be increased by cuttings of the young shoots, inserted in sandy soil, in a frame, and kept shaded until rooted. All like well-drained, rather dry, sandy loam.
O. Basilicum. Common or Sweet Basil. fl. white; racemes simple. August. l. petiolate, ovate or oblong, narrowed at the base, a little toothed. h. 1ft. Warm regions of Asia and Africa, 1548. Erect or ascending annual. O. canum (hoary). fl. white, in simple racemes; calyces longer than the pedicels. July. l. petiolate, ovate, narrowed at both ends, almost entire, canescent beneath. h. 1ft. Madagascar, &c., 1822. Plant erect, herbaceous, pubescent. (B. M. 2452.) O. febrifugum (febrifuge). A synonym of O. viride.
O. filamentosum (thready). fl. white, rather large, in simple racemes; corolla four times as long as the calyx. July to October. l. shortly petiolate, ovate-oblong, narrowed at both ends, acutely serrated, finely pubescent. Stem shrubby, branched, tomentose. h. 2ft. to 3ft. East Africa, 1802. (B. R. 1843, 15, under name of Becium bicolor.) O. micranthum (small-flowered). fl. small, arranged in whorls of three, in terminal leafless racemes; corolla nearly white. May. l. rather long-stalked; young ones oblong, acuminated; older ones 3in. or more long, broadly ovate, acute, serrated. h. 8in. to 10in. West Indies, 1825. Annual. (B. M. 2996, under name of O. montanum.) O. minimum (least). Bush Basil. fl. white, in short, simple racemes; whorls loose. Summer. l. on long petioles, ovate, almost or quite entire. Stem erect, finely pubescent. h. 6in. to 12in. Chili, 1573. Annual. O. montanum (mountain). A synonym of O. micranthum.
O. scutellarioides (Scutellaria-like). A synonym of Coleus scutellarioides. O. viride (green). fl. greenish-white, in branched racemes; corolla hardly exceeding the calyx. July to October. l. petiolate, ovate-oblong, acuminated, crenated, narrowed at base, glabrous or downy on the ribs; floral ones bract-formed. Stem shrubby, branched. h. 2ft. to 4ft. West Africa, 1816. The leaves of this species are used in the manner of tea, as a febrifuge, at Sierra Leone, under the name of Fever Plant. (B. R. 753, under name of O. febrifugum.)