BASIL
In India, the holy Basil is a hallowed plant, dedicated to both Krishna and Vishnu, and is cherished in every Hindu house. Probably because of its virtues, in disinfecting, and vivifying malarious air, it first became inseparable from Hindu houses in India as the protecting spirit of the family. The strong aromatic scent of the leaves is very much like cloves.
Every good Hindu goes to his rest with a Basil leaf on his breast. It is thought this facilitates his entrance into the portals of Paradise. Basil is any plant of the genus Ocimum, tender herbs or small shrubs of the family Labiatae cultivated for the aromatic leaves. The basil of Keats's “Isabella” (and of Boccaccio's story) is the common or sweet basil (O. basilicum).
Common or Sweet Basil is utilized in medicine and is a significant ingredient for culinary purposes, especially in France. It is a hairy, labiate plant with white flowers in whorls in the axils of the leaves, the calyx with the upper lobe rounded and spreading. The leaves, greyish-green beneath and dotted with dark oil cells, are peculiarly smooth and cool to the touch, and if slightly bruised exhale a lovely scent of cloves.
There are several forms of basil differing in the size, shape, odour and colour of the leaves. In the Victorian context of flower interpretation however, basil
signifies hatred.Basil is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, of the class Magnoliopsida, and order Lamiales.
