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Ocimum basilicum

Miri

Sweet Basil, Thai Basil

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Leaves and flowers (Mediterranean-type)	86KB
Image:	Leaves and flowers (Mediterranean-type)	67KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Sweet Basil, Thai Basil, Common Basil, Mediterranean Basil; German Basilikum, Basilienkraut, Königskraut; French Basilic, Basilic commun, Herbe royale

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Miri (RR MT AK PL TW MH RK), Mori (MG), Miri / Miri Kura (AT MK), Mili (TS PK NS)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE w.Asia

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Not naturalised; Land, lowlands

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Medicine, Ornamental flowers, Food Cond, Material (Adornment)

KEY FEATURES: Erect aromatic shrub to 1m. LEAVES narrow-oval, to 5x2cm, hairless to slightly hairy, smooth or toothed; stalk to 2cm. FLOWERS racemes to 15cm; stalk and bracts purple; corolla to 8mm, white, 2 lips; tube straight. NUTLETS 4, dark-brown to black, oval, 1.5-2.5mm long, pitted. Includes varieties: Mediterranean Basil and Thai Basil.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Sacred Basil (Ocimum tenuflorum) has small wide leaves to 6x3cm (vs narrow to 5x2cm); corolla to 4mm (vs 8mm); nutlets less than 1.2mm (vs more than 1.5mm)

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea: Present
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
+++	++++	++++	+++	P	++	++?		-

Northern Group: Present
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
+++	++?	++?	+++	++?	-

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Ocimum basilicum Linnaeus
TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); ASTERIDAE; Lamiales; LAMIACEAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Pukapuka: fieldspecimen, 2/2004, G.McCormack with ID as Ocimum basilicum.

References:
p.808 Wagner et al.- Flowering Plants of Hawaii
p.735 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.5/229 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova
p.291 R* Cheeseman - Flora of Rarotonga
p.94 Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga
p.379h Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zD02

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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