ocymum
minimum
USE
Bush basil is an outstanding herb
for rituals of death and dying.
This pungent herb may be added to the incense or infused
to provide the holy water for aspurging.
This variety of basil is used
in correspondence with the Death card.
The romantic history of bush basil
readily lends itself to modern magick.
The oil would be a fine ingredient in
blended mixtures to enhance one's romance.
The gift of a live basil would add magick
to the endurance of one's relationship or a fine pesto sauce
might be the featured item on the menu for a romantic evening.
There is no finer herb to use when incorporating ritual
with your betrothal or engagement.
Not only will it help a young man be strong of heart
so that he can pursue his dreams,
but bush basil can be used to bring
blessings to the engagement ring as well.
Bush basil belongs to
Ocymum minimum and not
to
Ocymum basilicum as sweet basil does.
It differentiates from sweet basil for the very small,
thin leaves and very branched vine.
Leaves are ovate, quite entire, the white flowers
in whorls towards the top of the branches,
smaller than those of Sweet Basil, and seldom
succeeded by ripe seeds in England.
There are two varieties, one
with black-purple leaves and the other with variable leaves.
Both Bush and Garden Basil are natives of India,
from whence it was introduced in 1573.
Bush Basil may occasionally live through
the winter in this country,
though Sweet Basil never does.
Both varieties flower in July and August.
Leafy tops of Bush Basil are used in the same manner
as the Sweet Basil for seasoning and in salads.
Leaves of
Ocymumviride, a native of Western Africa,
possess febrifugal properties; and at Sierra Leone,
where it bears the name of 'Fever-plant,'
a decoction of them, drunk as tea, is used as a remedy
for the fevers so prevalent there.
Leaves of
Ocymum canum, and
Ocymum gratissimum
in India, and of
Ocymum crispum in Japan,
all sweet-scented varieties,
are prescribed as a remedy for colds.
Ocymum teniflorum is regarded as an aromatic stimulant
in Java; and
Ocymum guineense is much employed
by the negroes as a medicine in cases of bilious fever.
These plants are all free of any deleterious secretions;
for the most part they are fragrant, aromatic,and hence
they have not only been used as tonics,
but are valuable as kitchen herbs.
In Persia and Malaysia Basil is planted on graves,
and in Egypt women scatter the flowers
on the resting-places of those belonging to them.
Physicians of old were quite unable to agree
as to its medicinal value, some declaring that it
was a poison, and others a precious simple.
Culpepper tells us: 'Galen and Dioscorides hold it is not
fitting to be taken inwardly and Chrysippusrails at it.
Pliny and the Arabians defend it.
Something is the matter, this herb and rue
will not grow together, no, nor near one another, and we
know rue is as great an enemy to poison as any that grows.'
But it was said to cause sympathy
between human beings and a tradition in Moldavia
still exists that a youth will love any maiden
from whose hand he accepts a sprig of this plant.
Boccaccio's story of Isabella and the Pot of Basil,
immortalized by Keats, keeps the plant in our memory,
though it is now rarely cultivated in this country.
It was formerly grown in English herb gardens.
Tusser includes it among the Strewing herbs and Drayton
places it first in his poem Polyolbion.
'With Basil then I will begin
Whose scent is wondrous pleasing.'
In Tudor days, little pots of Basil
were often given as graceful compliments
by farmers' wives to visitors.
Parkinson says: 'The ordinary Basil is in a manner wholly
spent to make sweete or washing waters among
other sweet herbs, yet sometimes it is put into nosegays.
The Physical properties are to procure a cheerful and merry
hearte whereunto the seeds is chiefly used in powder.
Source(s)
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