Meanwhile, let's talk about the basil plant, Ocimum basilicum. I'd never really thought about where it fits taxonamically. Would you belive it's a mint? It has pretty white flowers (but that means the end of harvesting it for a herb. Some varieties are tender perennials, but Margaret says not these ones. She's tried.
There are several varieties of basil, and I don't know which this is, but here is a stem with whorls of seed pods forming below the budding stalk along the square stem. That's a big clue that it's a mint.
This stem has broken off and you can really see the shape of the pods although they aren't ripe yet, and that the stem has four sides.
Here's a stalk just starting to bud. I love the telescoped layers of baby leaves.
Now I'm practically high on basil from harvesting all the leaves!
In other news: no walking happened. I stared at the computer so long my eyeballs ache, but I got a lot done.
 | See Is it Easy Being Green? |
3 comments:
The only think I knew about basil before I read this was that it came in a jar and you can find it in the spice section at the grocery store.
Lulu: "Basil is an extremely popular herb around here! Something about being Italian, I guess ..."
Ann- Well, I didn't know you can get it in jars!
Lulu- well, it is certainly yummy whether one is Italian or not
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