Basil

صومع، ريحان

COMMON NAME: Basil

ARABIC: صومع، ريحان

BOTANICAL NAME: Ocimum forsskaolii Benth.

FAMILY: LAMIACEAE

KIND: Native

EMIRATE: Fujairah

CATEGORIES: Medicinal (M), Cosmetics (C)

GROWTH FORMS: Herbs

HABITATS: Slope (Rocky)

TYPES: Annual

REMARKS: Their fragrance causes headaches and dizziness.

DESCRIPTION:

Annual, stems slender, square, erect or spreading, up to 35 cm, often supported by surrounding vegetation, strongly aromatic. Leaves oval with finely toothed edges and pointed tips, 0.5–1.8 × 1.2–3 cm, glossy dark green, opposite or in whorls, on stalks up to 0.5 cm. Inflorescence a terminal spike of 6-flowered clusters in whorls, spaced at 2 cm intervals, emerging from nodes of reduced leaves. Flowering from February to April.

REFERENCES:

M.V.D jongbloed, G.R. Fuelner, B. Boer, A.R. Western. the comprehensive guide to the wild flowers of the United Arab Emirates. Environmental research and wildlife Development agency, Abu Dhabi, 2003. V.V. Byalt, V.M. Korshunov, M.V. Korshunov. Cadaster of the Flora of Fujairah Emirate (United Arab Emirates). Al Fujairah 2021.