“Basils 2025” – First Report

Summary

My Basil-Perfumed Wishes 

About my two spontaneous hybrid plants with orange pollen 

More than 80 accessions of Basil, Tulsi, and other Ocimum species, in our Garden at Casa Kalika in 2025 

Objectives of “Basils 2025” 

My Observations about Cultivars of Basils 

Regarding the spontaneous crosses involving “Kapura”, Ocimum kilimandscharicum, and Ocimum basilicum

Flower of Ocimum kilimandscharicum

My Basil-Perfumed Wishes

Flower of Ocimum bisabolenum

Before presenting an initial assessment and the objectives of my “Basils 2025” project, I would like to:

1. Make everyone aware – and indeed every human being who cares about the harmonious functioning of his physical and psychic health – that Medicinal Plants represent the “Future Primitive” of Human Health, and that the botanical archetype “Basil/Tulsi/Ocimum” is part of this…

Treasure-Chest of Master Medicinal Plants for Home Pharmacy

2. Regenerate the collection of Basils, Tulsi, and other Ocimum cultivars, sold as certified organic seeds by the Kokopelli Association, in terms of diversity and specificity – as I will explain further. Today, Kokopelli, in France, offers the most diverse range of organic Basil seeds on the planet.

I would, therefore, like to refine it while diversifying it even further – for example, by incorporating geographically certified ecotypes from a specific People and Land – and also, more essentially, by characterizing its chemotype for the “Future Primitive” of a safe “Family/Home Pharmacy”.

GRIN/USDA. PI 172997. “Kars”. Turkey. Ocimum basilicum
Preparation of Mother Tinctures with organic 45° alcool

3. Highlight the fact that the Kokopelli Association sells organic seeds of Basil cultivars that are resistant to downy mildew – even if, in some cases, this resistance is only relative, depending on the strains of Peronospora belbahrii.

The Kokopelli range includes 3 cultivars of Ocimum basilicum that should be promoted in view of this pathology: “Dévotion,” “Obsession,” and “Mrihani.” The first two are recent developments from Rutgers University in the US, while “Mrihani” is the only ecotype (native to Zanzibar) of Ocimum basilicum in the world that is 100% resistant to downy mildew. Unfortunately, its leaf appearance is unusual and, more importantly, its main chemotype is Estragole (Methyl Chavicol) – not Linalool or Eugenol, which are more popular with consumers.

“Devotion”

There is also an “Opalescent” selection – from Frank Morton of Wild Garden Seeds in Oregon – which the Kokopelli Association sells. Today, Frank Morton is working on his F6 selection of this cross involving the “Mrihani” and “Dark Opal” ecotypes – in an attempt to incorporate “Mrihani’s” total resistance to downy mildew.

Selection “Opalescent” by Frank Morton of Wild Garden Seeds in Oregon

4. Overcome the apathy, contempt, inertia, and nonsense that currently plague part of the research community studying the Ocimum genus – and, by extension, all seed companies around the world.

One day, perhaps, I will publish my highly amusing and distressing written exchanges with a “geneticist” from Ethiopia, for example, or with the small world of “botanists” in northern India… regarding my discoveries concerning the existence, as a species, and the Ethiopian origin, of the “Temperate Tulsi”, the Besobila, Ocimum bisabolenum.

Besobila from Ethiopia. Ocimum bisabolenum
Ecotype “Spice” sold by Richters Seeds.

About my two spontaneous hybrid plants with orange pollen

Regarding my two spontaneous hybrid plants with orange pollen, involving Ocimum basilicum and, presumably, Ocimum kilimandscharicum, based on the color of the pollen, cold resistance, floral morphology, and, above all, the enormous size of the plant – because in temperate/subtropical climates, Ocimum kilimandscharicum plants can reach over two meters in height.

Perennial basil with orange pollen, resulting from a spontaneous cross between Ocimum basilicum and Ocimum kilimandscharicum

The first enormous plant – over a meter wide – did not survive being dug up, in the fall of 2024, from a very compacted path in the garden… where it had once grown spontaneously. We did, however, manage to save a cutting – which grew over the months – that, like the mother plant, has branches with white flowers and branches with purple flowers – a rarity…

Perennial Basil with branches bearing white flowers and branches bearing purple flowers, with orange pollen – a rarity!

The second spontaneous cross – which I had transplanted into a pot when it was young during the summer – spent the winter on a covered balcony, but with very little protection from the wind. It therefore withstood temperatures of around -7°C and, above all, a four-day period of freezing fog, which destroys leaf tissue. Beginning of July, this plant was, already, over 1 meter in diameter and has an exquisite fragrance…

Beginning of July, this spontaneous cross was, already, over 1 meter in diameter and has an exquisite fragrance… reminiscent of the “Cinnamon” and “Licorice” cultivars!

The winter weather conditions were such that none of my Ocimum bisabolenum plants survived—unlike in previous winters, which were just as cold but without freezing fog. However, my only Ocimum kilimandsharicum plant survived the entire winter.

At the end of this Report, I will comment the diverse spontaneous crosses I got, this year, involving Ocimum kilimandscharicum and, presumably, Ocimum basilicum.

More than 80 accessions of Basil, Tulsi, and other Ocimum species, in our Garden at Casa Kalika in 2025

In the spring, we installed mini wall greenhouses and I sowed more than 80 accessions of basil – species and cultivars – in seed trays. Namely:

The Kokopelli collection available in December 2024.

26 accessions from the  GRIN /USDA.

Cultivars from Richter Seeds in Canada.

My own 2022 crops involving the relatively mildew-resistant cultivar “Devotion,” the Turkish ecotype “Esfahan” of Ocimum americanum var. pilosum, and my various ecotypes of Ocimum bisabolenum – Kokopelli’s one, “Spice” (from Richters Seeds in Canada) and the ecotype “PI 652059” (from GRIN/USDA).

PI 652059. Besobila from Ethiopia – collected in the Maldives, islands off the coast of Ethiopia. Ocimum bisabolenum

At the end of June, I sowed a few other cultivars from Kokopelli – including two strains of Ocimum tenuiflorum, of the “Krishna” type (which are normally purple, as Krishna is blue), as well as the enigmatic New Guinea Basil – which I would like to evaluate. As well as the “Anise” strain from Richters Seeds in Canada. And various batches of “Kapura”.

I then transplanted what had sprouted into small pots, and subsequently into 1 liter (or larger) pots or directly into the garden.

Flower of Ocimum basilicum

Objectives of “Basils 2025”

I would like to clarify that the objectives of “Basils 2025” are:

1. Paying tribute to the beauty and diversity of Ocimum and photographing them more and more – just in case we ever publish a book on the main species in the Ocimum genus… about which I have already written a plethora of monographs.

Honey-bee landing on a Besobila’s inflorescence

2. Conduct an agronomic assessment (amplitude, height, flower color, etc.) of all these Ocimum species and cultivars in parallel – unofficially and purely for pleasure – with the work carried out by the director of the Karlsruhe Botanical Institute, Peter Nick, in Germany: namely, the creation of a genetic map of 120 Ocimum accessions (including those from Kokopelli and GRIN that I selected) as well as the analysis of their essential oils.

3. Produce, under mosquito nets (i.e., through strict self-pollination and without pollinating insects), pure seeds of ecotypes, cultivars or species that could potentially be introduced or regenerated.

My three pollination tents, in strictly self-pollinating or autogamy, for the production of pure seeds. This is the same technique used by GRIN/USDA – with permanent structures.

4. Work on crosses involving the relatively mildew-resistant cultivar “Devotion” – from which I harvested a lot of seeds during the summer of 2022, when it grew among about thirty other Ocimum species and cultivars. The aim being to study dozens of plants in order to discover interesting crosses and, perhaps, also with the mildew resistance of the mother plant.

Ocimum basilicum. Ethiopian ecotype. PI 197442 in the GRIN/USDA seed bank. This Ethiopian ecotype is characterized by a chemotype of linalool, geraniol, and eucalyptol.

5. Introduce a new genetic “strain” of Ocimum bisabolenum, which is, in fact, a genetic pool from five, or more, different ecotypes. Why? Because, depending on the Ethiopian ecotypes, the ratio of Bisabolene, in the essential oil, can vary from 10 to 49%. And it is Bisabolene that interests us because this terpene is very specific to this species in the Ocimum world – at least in the spectrum of major Ocimum species from an ethnobotanical, medicinal or commercial point of view. I am also growing, in the safe pollination tent, a specimen of Ocimum bisabolenum which has very clear green leaves when the huge majority of plants, in this species, have dark green leaves.

GRIN/USDA. PI 652059. Ocimum bisabolenum. Besobila from Ethiopia – collected in the Maldives, islands off the coast of Ethiopia. In 2022, this plant grew to a diameter of 75 cm in mid-September, when sown in April.

Moreover, I am waiting for 2 seed packets, coming from USA, of the ecotype of Besobila introduced, in the 70s, by the Ethiopian Menkir Tamrat, who grew and sold Berber landraces native to his native Ethiopia in Fremont, California: basil, chili peppers, teff, etc.

GRIN/USDA PI 652056. Besobila from Ethiopia. Ocimum bisabolenum

6. Mix all these basil cultivars and ecotypes in the garden to encourage Mother Earth to give us more gifts of spontaneous crosses – and, above all, “fertile” ones, because my two 2024 hybrid plants (Ocimum basilicum x Ocimum kilimandsharicum) are sterile… to date. This year, I am even going so far as to plant a “Cinnamon” or “Licorice” Basil together with an Ocimum kilimandscharicum in the same pot in order to play the lottery with the Archetype Ocimum! Why? Because it seems that my first two spontaneous crosses involved the chemotype “Methyl Cinnamate” in Ocimum basilicum.

7. Correct any errors in botanical species identification that persist in the Kokopelli range – as well as in the GRIN/USDA range.

Indeed, through my discovery of the geographical origin, and species nature, of the Temperate Tulsi, the Ethiopian Tulsi – which I named Ocimum bisabolenum – I was able to put an end to a botanical chaos that had been going on since 1953 in the US, when five ecotypes were introduced into the seed bank of the Tobacco Division in Ames, Iowa. These 5 ecotypes of, Ocimum bisabolenum – PI 414201, PI 414202, PI 414203, PI 414204, and PI 414205 – were specified, then, as Ocimum gratissimum and Ocimum kilimandscharicum. Link.

Nevertheless, there is still enormous botanical confusion prevailing in the entire Ocimum genus (particularly among seed companies), which I have attempted to remedy, in part, with my various monographs – particularly those on Ocimum bisabolenum (in French, English, and Spanish) and Ocimum americanum.

I have, thus, highlighted that nearly a hundred studies published on Basil, over the past quarter-century, should be corrected or outright retracted. [Link] Of course, this perspective was not warmly welcomed by their authors, almost all of whom never responded to me, preferring to bury their heads in the sand. Furthermore, I do not hold a PhD conferred by the neo-Darwinist academic lottery: I am, therefore, nothing more than a peasant, and a freak, in the small world of standardized, State-certified botany and genetics.

Today, if I may repeat myself, once again, the US seed bank (GRIN/USDA) lists seven ecotypes of Ocimum bisabolenum as Ocimum tenuiflorum – even though the flowers are purple with orange pollen according to their own photographs… and even though the high prevalence of Bisabolene, in the essential oil, is highlighted in their own observations! I have grown three of these ecotypes in my garden to demonstrate that the evidence is not just virtual on the internet: PI 652059, PI 652056, and PI 414205.

By the way, it is strictly impossible, in our garden, to see any difference, phenotypically speaking, between the diverse ecotypes of Ocimum bisabolenum: PI 652059, PI 652056, and PI 414205, “Spice” (from Richters Seeds) and the “Kokopelli” strain.

GRIN/USDA. PI 414205. Besobila from Ethiopia. Ocimum bisabolenum

All this is corroborated by the beautiful pressed plants presented by Noelle Fuller as well as the results of her studies (LINK) – namely than “Kapoor” (misnamed by Strictly Medicinal Seeds), PI 414201, PI 414202, PI 414203, PI 414204, PI 414205, PI 652056 and PI 652059 are ecotypes of the same species, Ocimum bisabolenumLINK. With the same level of Bisabolene, more or less, and the same predominant other elements of the chemotype: namely, Eugenol, Estragol (Methy Chavicol) and Eucalyptol.

GRIN/USDA. PI 253157 . Lemon Basil. “Esfahan”. Iran. 
Ocimum americanum var. pilosum

8. Attempt to establish a “botanical handbook,” with photographs, allowing the botanical species of Ocimum to be intuitively distinguished at first perception – thanks to “determining” characteristics: the color of the pollen; the height of the plant; the positioning of the plant and leaves in space; the shape of the leaves; the length of the flower stalk, etc.

The young leaves of Ocimum gratissimum tend to fold and curve laterally.

9. Correct any errors in the botanical descriptions in my monographs on Ocimum written during the summer of 2022. In fact, in our desert-style garden, which is relatively new – and with raised beds maintained by low brick walls – and whose biomass is made from local (poor) soil, manure, and vermicompost, plant prosperity can vary greatly depending on soil fertility and location.

So this year, I decided to grow certain plants, ecotypes, cultivars or species, of Basil that I wanted to evaluate – and photograph more easily – in 30/35 cm pots with trays, using the same growing medium and watering the plants at will.

10. Establish a very precise table of the chemotypes of essential oils for each ecotype, or cultivar, of Basil presented by the Association the Kokopelli : namely, a description of their main components – as there are sometimes dozens of minor ones. This is for medicinal purposes, among others – because even Basil cultivars, known as aromatics, are extremely medicinal.

For example, if very similar violet cultivars – such as “Rubin,” “Osmin,” “Dark Opal,” and “Rosie” – are kept in the same range, it is then interesting to highlight their possible differences in terms of their essential components – if such differences do exist.

My Observations about Cultivars of Basils

1. Regarding the germinative capacity of Basil seeds

I mentioned in my book, “Semences de Kokopelli” – which is in its 18th edition and which has not been updated since 2011 – that the average germination period for Basil was eight years. Today, I would be much more cautious: it all depends on the species, first of all, and then on the quality of the seeds… and how they are stored.

Furthermore, I will be even more cautious when it comes to seeds of Ocimum species from Asia, Africa, and Latin America, as reliable, sourced information on their average germination time is very rare, if not non-existent.

“Malawi Camphor”. Ocimum americanum var. americanum

2. Regarding the viability of Basil seeds

For some cultivars, the seeds germinate but produce weak seedlings that do not thrive. This is an extremely important point for all seed producers: they must monitor the germination capacity of the seeds, but also their viability… because just because a seed germinates does not mean it is viable – i.e., capable of producing a robust plant. I have noticed this with various seed producers.

In principle, under identical experimental growing conditions, non-viable or very weak seedlings can be generated by seeds that are too old (and no longer have the Force, the Vital Impulse) or by seeds that have been produced in marginal conditions, given their genetic requirements (and therefore never had the Force).

Today, given atmospheric fluctuations – including cooling trends – it is more than prudent to produce Ocimum tenuiflorum and Ocimum gratissimum seeds in greenhouses… or in the warmest regions of France or Europe.

Ocimum gratissimum

3. The first plants of Basil to flower, on May 28, were Ocimum bisabolenum

They were followed a week later by small-leaved lemon basil. The first plants to produce ripe seed, around June 20, were Ocimum bisabolenum.

“Spice” – a trade name (distributed by Richters Seeds, in Canada, for decades) for Ocimum bisabolenum

4. Regarding Cristation/fasciation in Ocimum bisabolenum

I have discovered a new characteristic that is unique to Ocimum bisabolenum… at least as far as I know – which is to say, a lot! – about the main species of Basil in the world. Indeed, some plants, from various ecotypes of Ocimum bisabolenum, have a stem characterized by a cristation/fasciation that can reach 5 cm in length – with a width of nearly 9 mm. Then, this main stem, in fasciation, divides into two or three branches.

Cristation/fasciation in Ocimum bisabolenum, reaching up to 5 cm in length and nearly 9 mm in width

5. Regarding the cultivars of the species Ocimum basilicum – namely the most widely used, cultivated, and marketed

Regarding the purple-leaved cultivars “Rubin,” “Osmin,” “Rosie,” and “Purple Delight,” I see no difference, this year, between these four cultivars in terms of coloration.

I was unable to evaluate the “Dark Opal” cultivar in comparison, but according to the photos on the Kokopelli website, it appears to be almost identical.

I have grown the Richters Seeds cultivar “Purple Delight” several times and have seen no difference in coloration compared to the others.

 Purple Delight. Ocimum basilicum.

The main antioxidant compounds, in purple Basil, are the acids caffeic, vanillic, and rosmarinic, as well as quercetin, rutin, apigenin, chlorogenic acid, and p-hydroxybenzoic acid.

The main components of the chemotype, of purple Basil, are: eucalyptol, linalool, estragole, eugenol, methyl cinnamate, and trans-α-bergamotene.

“Red Genovese”. Ocimum basilicum

Regarding cultivars such as Linalol, Grand Vert, A Feuilles Moyennes, Dolly, Elidia, Eleonora, etc. They are of no interest, especially since some may have been resistant to mildew, in the past, but are no longer so today.

Regarding the “Latino/Vert Fin Compact” cultivar. It seems completely similar to the “Grec” cultivar but without its incredible growth – at least in my garden. The “Grec” cultivar is, sometimes called, “Greco a Palla.”

End of June 2025. This plant, of the “Grec” cultivar, “Greco a Palla,” is 45 cm tall with no sign of a flower emerging – while other ecotypes, or cultivars, began flowering at the end of May. This is a great choice for gardeners… and a great success for the Basil Archetype!

Regarding the cultivars “Siam Queen Thai,” “Small-leaved Thai,” and “Red-stemmed Thai. I really don’t see any difference between these cultivars – except for slight differences in flower color – with a similar chemotype, at least to the nose. I was unable to evaluate “Large-Leaf Thai” as it was sold out at Kokopelli. In fact, “Small-Leaf Thai” has “large” leaves measuring 6/7 cm… at least according to my own leaf meter.

Regarding the cultivars “Anise,” “Licorice,” “Cinnamon,” and “Aromatto.” I need to investigate all these cultivars… especially since my erroneous attribution of Ocimum americanum for “Anis”, from the Kokopelli range, was extrapolated from a strain from the seed company Richters Seeds – which I grew in 2022.

“Anis” from the Richters Seeds range in Canada

On June 28, I found the Richters “Anise” packet in my drawers and sowed the remaining seeds – dating from 2015 or 2016 – hoping for some germination. By July 5, hundreds of seeds had sprouted!

“Anis” from Kokopelli in France

From a phenotypic point of view, there is no real difference between the “Anise” “Licorice” and “Cinnamon” cultivars from Kokopelli, and sometimes very little difference with certain “Thai” ecotypes as well, due to the fact that they all belong to the same “Thyrsiflorum” group.

“Licorice” from Kokopelli in France

In fact, according to a recent study from 2023, the cultivars “Anise” “Licorice” and “Fahéj illatú” (“Cinnamon aroma” in Turkish) all have a Cinnamon/ Linalool chemotype – with more than 50% methyl cinnamate for the “Licorice” cultivar. The ”Anise” cultivar has less methyl cinnamate but much more estragole (25%).

“Queen of Sheba”

There is a plethora of other cultivars – or trade names, to be more precise – of Basil of the “cinnamon/methyl cinnamate” type: “Purple Virgin,” “Purple Lovingly,” “Sweet Castle,” “Purple Long Legged,” etc.

6. Regarding companion planting involving Tomatoes and Basil in the vegetable garden.

I scattered Basil throughout our large garden this year – including among the tomatoes. My conclusion at the end of June is as follows. In a relatively arid biotope such as ours (in 2024, 95 mm of water between early January and late September), a very low water table at a depth of 125 meters, and many days already reaching 92°F in June, the tomato/basil companion planting is, inevitably, beneficial to the tomatoes – in terms of harmonizing insects – because the Tomato plants literally “suck” up the water… and then the light.

7. Regarding temperatures exceeding 35°C/105°F.

In front of our cabin, none of my Basil plants, which are in large pots, suffer from the intense sunlight and high temperatures. Why? Because they have unlimited water in their containers. The situation is different in the garden, with plants growing in the ground… Thus, under the same conditions, and depending on the cultivars, or ecotypes, some plants – such as those of the violet type – wrinkle their leaves as much as possible or let them hang down, while others have not initiated any foliar process to minimize evaporation.

Ocimum basilicum. Lettuce”

8. Regarding ecotypes, and cultivars, of Ocimum americanum

As for the Lemon type Basils, “Lime Thai,” “Kali,” and “Mrs Burns,” when placed side by side, they are characterized by a very high degree of similarity from a phenotypic point of view. They were approximately 50 to 60 cm tall at the end of June.

It is therefore, only, the chemotype of their essential oil that can differentiate these various cultivars of Ocimum americanum var. pilosum:

“Sweet Dani.” The chemotype of its essential oil is 83–86% citral. In addition, this recent v has a higher essential oil ratio than other cultivars of lemon basil, meaning it contains even more citral.

“Mrs Burns”. The chemotype of its essential oil is Estragol, Citral, and Linalool, with even traces of Bisabolene according to one study. According to another study, it is 50% Citral and 39% Linalool – without Estragol. [17]

“Lime Thai” – ou “Maenglak Thai”. The chemotype of its essential oil is Citral, β-Caryophyllene, Linalool, and Bergamotene.

As for the Lemon Basil ecotype native to Esfahan, Iran – a place recently highlighted by the bombing of its nuclear research site – it is a lemon-scented Ocimum americanum var. pilosum with very large plants. The main chemotype of its essential oil is Citral, Estragol, Linalool, and Bergamotene.

Lemon Basil. “Esfahan”. Iran. 
Ocimum americanum sp. pilosum

Regarding the subspecies, Ocimum americanum var. americanum. First, concerning the ecotype “Kivumbasi Lime”, originating from the island of Zanzibar. Having never cultivated it myself, I attributed it to Ocimum americanum var. pilosum. This was a mistake on my part: it is an Ocimum americanum var. americanum.

Next, regarding the “Genetic Pool from Zambia” from Kokopelli. I already have two magnificent plants, in isolation mosquito netting, and I just reseeded a tray – and transplanted about ten seedlings – from a whole packet of old seeds. Indeed, I wish to locate the plants – from this genetic pool of four Zambian ecotypes – that possess an Eucalyptol chemotype rather than a Camphor chemotype. For medicinal purposes.

GNRIN/USDA. PI 500942. A camphor ecotype of Ocimum americanum sp. americanum from Zambia

Indeed, an Eucalyptol chemotype of Ocimum americanum var. americanum would expand the range of Kokopelli for this subspecies: in addition to “Kivumbasi Lime”, with a Citral chemotype, and “Malawi Camphor”, with a Camphor chemotype – and perhaps, to be verified, a Menthol chemotype, for the reference named “African”, without a more precise geographical origin.

Ecotype of Ocimum americanum sp. americanum referred to as “African” – with Association Kokopelli. Note the leaf shape which is completely different from other ecotypes from Zambia and Malawi.

Regarding ecotypes of Ocimum tenuiflorum

Regarding the “Green Tulsi from Thailand”. It started to bloom, at 25 cm in height, at the end of June. Note that its leaves are slightly different from other ecotypes of Ocimum tenuiflorum, as their curling suggests that they are not serrated at all… whereas they are.

I have not obtained anything from the seeds from 2020 of the ecotype named “Rama”.

At the end of June, I sowed two purple strains of “Krishna” – which germinated very well – in order to assess what the issue was regarding their coloration. In fact, both of them are misidentified as they are green-leaved.

I positioned, in my isolation mosquito tents – in order to produce pure seeds – plants from two other ecotypes, green, of Ocimum tenuiflorum: one from Gujarat (PI 288779) and the other from Cuba (PI 652057).

Tulsi from Gujarat in India. GRIN/USDA. PI 288779. 
Ocimum tenuiflorum

Regarding the spontaneous crosses involving “Kapura”, Ocimum kilimandscharicum, and Ocimum basilicum

This year, I sowed “Kapura” seeds stemming from my very diversified Basil garden from 2022, as well as seeds from a plant that appeared spontaneously during the summer of 2024, along with seeds produced by Maryse, one of Kokopelli’s growers in 2017.

Flower of “Kapura”, Ocimum kilimandscharicum, with white/grey anthers and pollen and relatively short stamens – instead of orange pollen and long stamens.

I currently have around 16 “Kapura” in cultivation, in pots or in the garden, this year. Out of 16 plants, half are not normal with different flowers and leaves – or, sometimes, very frail. These plants appear to be sterile at first glance, as the flowers quickly dehisce – just a few hours after anthesis.

Kapura with small leaves and “bouquets” of 12 to 24 small flower spikes, from 6 to 10 cm long
Crown of 6 flowers, with white/grey pollen, blooming at the same time – namely a pseudo-whorl or verticillaster – which rarely happens in Ocimum kilimandscharicum

It should be noted, above all, that the species Ocimum kilimandscharicum is very uncommon in gardens and very little investigated by researchers… because research is expensive. For example, a query on the Pubmed website presents 1500 references for Ocimum basilicum, 847 for Ocimum tenuiflorum, and 47 for Ocimum kilimandscharicum! This indicates that the reproductive processes characterizing Ocimum kilimandscharicum have not, really, been elucidated.

After inquiring into the past seed productions of Kokopelli, I also suspect that these new hybridized plants of Ocimum kilimandscharicum may have originated from a spontaneous cross during the 2017 season, at Maryse’s, who produced 337 grams of seeds as well as nearly a kilo of the ecotype Ocimum basilicum, ‘Mrihani’ – namely, a significant opportunity for crossings, involving these two species, due to the very large number of seed-bearing plants… and the irresistible attraction of pollinators from all spheres.

In conclusion, in terms of the integration of genes for resistance to Basil Downy Mildew, into edible Basil cultivars of Ocimum basilicum, the Ocimum kilimandscharicum X Ocimum basilicum pathway could prove fruitful. This is especially true if less “camphoraceous” ecotypes of Ocimum kilimandscharicum are available, as consumers are not fond of camphor on their plates. There are, in Africa, for example, other ecotypes of which are devoid of, or very low in, Camphor. Such is the case for the GRIN/USDA ecotype, PI 652052, which had for chemotype, in one analysis:  Estragol 31%, Camphor 12%, Eucalyptol 11%, Eugenol 9%.

In conclusion, if Ocimum kilimandscharicum spontaneously crosses with Ocimum basilicum, and vice versa, it is quite possible that Ocimum kilimandscharicum could cross with other species of Ocimum, and vice versa – at least among the Ocimum species of the clade comprising Ocimum basilicum, Ocimum americanum, Ocimum kilimandscharicum and Ocimum bisabolenum.

In this regard, my various letters, from the autumn of 2024, addressed to ITEIPMAI and its director, Denis Bellenot, have to this day remained unanswered. I narrated my discoveries and even proposed cuttings of my spontaneous crosses… in the name of Research and Mutualism.

Flowers of Ocimum bisabolenum

In my various letters, I even proposed to this administrator of the “National Conservatory of Perfumed, Medicinal, Aromatic and Industrial Plants” in Milly la Forêt, the friendly use of my high-definition photographs for a future edition of their excellent 286-page work,  “La diversité du genre Ocimum dans les collections du CNPMAI”

With this joyful news – regarding innovation and spontaneous co-evolution – involving Ocimum kilimandscharicum, I will conclude this “First Report” on my “Basils 2025” project… hoping, one day under a lucky star, that the Ethiopian Tulsi, the Besobila, Ocimum bisabolenum, may also fall in love with flirting in order to spread its Bisabolene, and its resistance to cold temperatures and Downy Mildew, in the Biosphere of Basil Master Medicinal Plants!

Xochi. July 12nd 2025

Botanical description of the ecotype “Spice” of Ocimum bisabolenum