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Ocimum gratissimum

Miri Taratoni

Wild Basil

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Image:	Leaves and flowers	93KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Wild Basil, Tree Basil

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Miri Taratoni (RR AT MK), Mori Nganga‘ere (MG), Miri Tītā (MT), Miri Puaka (AK)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE pantropical

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent (early 1900s), Naturalised; S.Group only - widespread and common; Land, lowlands - mountains (++++)

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Medicine; Weed - serious

KEY FEATURES: Shrubby herb to 1.5m, woody at base. STEM square with short bristles. LEAVES pungent, opposite, oval, to 15x8cm, tip sharp, edge toothed; stalk to 5cm. FLOWERS on ascending spike; calyx cup-like, green, with large dorsal tooth; corolla barely protruding, greenish-white; stamens and style protruding; overall 6x4x2mm(LxHxW). NUTLET ~round, 2mmØ.

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

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

Northern Group: -
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 gratissimum Linnaeus
TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); ASTERIDAE; Lamiales; LAMIACEAE

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
POSITIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Medicine
NEGATIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Weed - serious. Comments: A very widespread weedy shrub in waste and fallow areas. Difficult to remove and very persistent.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.808 Wagner et al.- Flowering Plants of Hawaii
p.735 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.776 Hortus 3rd
p.792 Royal Hort. Soc. Index of Garden Plants
p.94 Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga
p.380b Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM04b, zupM04b, zD05a

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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