Basil

The Scorpion’s Seed, The Basilisk’s Aroma: King of The Herbs.

Image via The Café Sucre Farine


Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) has been cultivated for over 2,000 years (Succop, 1998) and has a long and revered ethnobotanical history throughout the ancient world as a culinary wonder, a medicinal gift, a sacred herb, and a potently aromatic companion. 

The exact place of origin is hotly debated, but remains uncertain. The best estimate pins its place of origin to India, before spreading to a variety of regions in Asia and Africa, also growing wild on various Islands located in the Pacific Ocean (Muenscher et al., 1979). It has been proposed that Sweet Basil made its way to Greece in the hands of none other than Alexander the Great in the 4th Century BC on his way back from Asia (Darrah, 1980). It then made its way into the rest of Europe over the past 2,000 years in the hands of herbalists, explorers, adventurers and conquerors (DeBaggio, 1996).

Anubis using Basil in enbalming, via Wiki
Image via Wiki

Its botanical origin is still not known, as the parentage of basil as we know it has not yet been identified, even though it can be found growing wild in specific regions of the world (Succop, 1998). It has been postulated by Brown that because of overcollection and the long history of cultivation, the wild ancestors have been outbred or have gone extinct (Brown, 1995).
Its cultural history is shrouded in mystery and legend, and has been associated with many things ranging from ritual to myth, folklore, mystery and superstition (Succop, 1998), with wild claims dominating the scene such as the power to spontaneously generate scorpions in the brain. (Culpeper, 1652; Grieve, 1931).
It has been extensively used throughout history for a wide range of medicinal ailments, and recent studies have found the oils to contain potent anti-viral, anti-microbial and antioxidant properties (Simon, 1984), with further research on the way (Bozin et al., 2006; Chiang et al., 2005). It also portrays stomachic, antihelminthic, antipyretic, stimulant and diaphoretic properties (Sahoo et al., 1996-1997).

In more recent times it is revered for both its pharmaceutical and aromatic properties (Sahoo et al., 1996-1997), and its use stretches deeply into the culinary, ornamental, commercial, religious and medicinal industries (Succop, 1998). It has an enormous spectrum of variants resulting from its diverse gene pool, which includes such exotic aromas as rose, anise, mint, clove, liquorice, cinnamon, camphor, and lemon (Succop, 1998).

Cultivation:

The cultivation of Sweet Basil can be done via sexual or asexual reproduction, but large scale propagation via seeds is severely restricted due to low germination frequency and seed viability (Sahoo et al., 1996-1997), and seedlings are extremely susceptible to pythium and damping-off pathogens, so we will be focusing on the latter.

To grow Sweet Basil through clonal propagation a 10cm cutting will be taken below a leaf node before it starts to flower, which will subsequently form roots in approximately 10 days if left in water to grow with sufficient light throughout this vital period. One mature and healthy plant will produce about 8-12 cuttings on average.
Image via The Café Sucre Farine

Image via The Café Sucre Farine





















After cuttings have been made and the roots have established themselves in water, they can be transplanted into growing containers containing a mixture of perlite,  vermiculite, peat and expanded clay pellets. They will be fed through drip irrigation with multiple drip emitters to ensure even nutrient and water distribution throughout the growth medium.
Image via Green Thumbs
Image via Green Thumbs

Image via Green Thumbs

Image via Green Thumbs

Image via Green Thumbs

They will be growing in the same hydroponic circuit as the tomatoes, since they are companion plants and their light, pH and nutrient requirements overlap beautifully, with basil requiring a pH of approximately 6.0-7.5. Basil can be harvested about a month after transplanting into the circuit, and the cycle can be started over again.


Image via The National

For a visual demonstration on how to take a cutting watch this: 
  


- Leo.
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Citations: 
  • Bown, Deni. 1995. Encyclopedia of herbs and their uses. Dorling Kindersley, New York, NY
  • Bozin B et al. “Characterization of the volatile composition of essential oils of some lamiaceae spices and the antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of the entire oils.” J Agric Food Chem. 2006 Mar 8;54(5):1822-8. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16506839?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum>.
  • Chiang LC et al. “Antiviral activities of extracts and selected pure constituents of Ocimum basilicum.” Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol. 2005 Oct;32(10):811-6. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16173941?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum>.
  • Culpeper, Nicholas. 1652. The English physitian: or an astrologo-physical discourse of the vulgar cultivation and folk-lore or herbs, grasses, fungi, shrubs & trees with all their modern scientific uses. New York: Harcourt Brace & Company, vol. 1. (HSA Library).
  • Darrah, Helen. 1980. The cultivated bails. Buckeye Printing, Independence, Mo.
  • Debaggio, Thomas and Susan Belsinger. 1996. Basil: An herb lover's guide. Interweave, Loveland, Colo.
  • Grieve, Mrs. M. 1931. A modern herbal: The medicinal, culinary, cosmetic and economic properties, herbs of this nation [online]. London:
  • Peter Cole. [accessed May 28, 2003]. Available from World Wide Web (http://www.info.med.yale.edu/library/historical/culpeper/b.htm).
  • Muenscher, Walter Conrad and Myron Arthur Rice. Garden Spice and Wild Pot-Herbs. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1978.
  • Sahoo, Y et al. In Vitro Clonal propagation of an aromatic medicinal herb Ocimum Basilicum L. (Sweet Basil) by axillary shoot proliferation. Plant Tissue and Cell Culture Facility, Post Graduate Department of Botany, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, India. 1996-1997.
  • Simon, J.E., A.F. Chadwick, and L.E. Craker. 1984. Herbs: An indexed bibliography 1971-1980; the scientific literature on selected herbs, and aromatic and medicinal plants of the temperate zone. Archon Books, Hamden, Conn.
  • Stobart, Tim. Herbs, Spices, and Flavorings. Woodstock, NY: The Overlook Press, 1982. 51-55.
  • Succop, CE. Hydroponic greenhouse production of fresh market basil. Colorado State University, Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture. 1998.

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