Ocimum basilicum ("Meboki")

Japanese name: メボウキ （目箒）
Scientific name: Ocimum basilicum

[Overview]
A perennial about 90 cm tall.
Because it is not cold tolerant, it is treated as an annual in Japan.
The stem is erect or ascending and has 4 ridges.
The leaves are simple and opposite, ovate to oblong.
The leaves are almost hairless, with slight teeth on the margins.
A spike-like verticillaster emerges at the stem tip.
The flowers are two-lipped and 4-lobed, pink or white.
The seeds are black; when they absorb water they become covered with a jelly-like substance and swell.

[Uses]
An herb familiar from Italian cooking and other cuisines.
The whole plant is fragrant, and the leaves are used fresh or dried.
The seeds, soaked in water, are used in desserts and the like.
It is also used medicinally.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or by cuttings.
It prefers fertile, sunny, well-drained, slightly moist soil.
It is tolerant of heat and vulnerable to dryness.
When the soil surface begins to dry, water thoroughly.
In addition to a base fertilizer, apply slow-release fertilizer once a month, or give liquid fertilizer once a week.
When grown from seed, it needs light to germinate, so sow in seed-starting soil, do not cover the seeds with soil, and water from the bottom so the soil does not dry out.
A temperature of about 20°C is needed for germination.
Pests and diseases include aphids, spider mites and cutworms.
If the branches become crowded, the plant becomes stuffy and disease may occur.

[Notes]
The Japanese name Mebouki (目箒, "eye broom") is said to derive from the use of the swollen, jelly-like seeds to wash the eyes.

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