Ocimum

Keys as per eFI thread
1. Teeth of lateral fruiting calyx lobes distinct, deltoid or lanceolate; bract without bowl-like gland developing
2. Throat of fruiting calyx closed by the upcurved 2 median teeth of anterior lip, anterior much shorter than posterior; mostly shrubs or undershrubs ……. 1. O. gratissimum
2. Throat of fruiting calyx open, the 2 median teeth of anterior lip as long as or longer than posterior; mostly herbs with stems woody at base
3. Calyx tube glabrous or thinly covered with minute glandular hairs inside; nutlets unchanged when wet ……… 2. O. tenuiflorum
3. Calyx tube with a ring of hairs at throat inside; nutlets producing mucilage when wet
4. Flower with pedicel nearly as long as calyx; appendage of posterior stamens hairy …….3. O. kilimandscharicum
4. Flower with pedicel much shorter than calyx; appendage of posterior stamens glabrous
5. Fruiting calyx up to 5 mm long; corolla 4 – 5.5 mm long
6. Fruiting calyx 2 – 3 mm long; stem internodes with short adpressed or retrose hairs ……… 4. O. americanum
6. Fruiting calyx 4 – 5.5 mm long; stem internodes with long, spreading and sometimes retrorse hairs ……… 5. O. africanum
5. Fruiting calyx 6 – 8 mm long; corolla 7 – 8 mm long ……. 6. O. basilicum
1. Teeth of lateral fruiting calyx lobes obscure, fringed with a row of many minute teeth; bract caducous, with bowl-like gland developing in the scar .. ……. 7. O. filamentosum

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Ocimum americanum L. (Images by B. Rathinasabapathy (Inserted by Bhagyashri Ranade & J.M.Garg))

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Ocimum filamentosum Forssk. (Images by Santhan P. (1,2) & A. Lalithamba (3,4 – Validation by Vijayasankar), (Inserted by Bhagyashri Ranade))

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Ocimum gratissimum L. (Images by Surajit Koley (Identified by J.M Garg), (Inserted by Bhagyashri Ranade))

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1. Teeth of lateral fruiting calyx lobes distinct, deltoid or lanceolate; bract without bowl-like gland developing
2. Throat of fruiting calyx closed by the upcurved 2 median teeth of anterior lip, anterior much  shorter than posterior; mostly shrubs or undershrubs …… 1. O. gratissimum
2. Throat of fruiting calyx open, the 2 median teeth of anterior lip as long as or longer than posterior; mostly herbs with stems woody at base
3. Calyx tube glabrous or thinly covered with minute glandular hairs inside; nutlets unchanged when wet …….. 2. O. tenuiflorum
3. Calyx tube with a ring of hairs at throat inside; nutlets producing mucilage when wet
4. Flower with pedicel nearly as long as calyx; appendage of posterior stamens hairy ….. 3. O. kilimandscharicum
    4. Flower with pedicel much shorter than calyx; appendage of posterior stamens glabrous
5. Fruiting calyx up to 5 mm long; corolla 4 – 5.5 mm long
6. Fruiting calyx 2 – 3 mm long; stem internodes with short adpressed or retrose hairs ……. 4. O. americanum
6. Fruiting calyx 4 – 5.5 mm long; stem internodes with long, spreading and sometimes retrorse hairs ……….. 5. O. africanum
5. Fruiting calyx 6 – 8 mm long; corolla 7 – 8 mm long ……… 6. O. basilicum
1. Teeth of lateral fruiting calyx lobes obscure, fringed with a row of many minute teeth; bract caducous, with bowl-like gland developing in the scar …….. 7. O. filamentosum

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From Floral Database of Tamilnadu : 

Binomial

Habit

Notes

Ref.

Distrib.

Ocimum americanum L.	Herb	Plains, Dry Localities	Flora of Tamil Nadu, VOL. II, 1987	All districts
Ocimum basilicum L. var. basilicum	Herb	Cultivated, Native of Mediterra nean Region	Flora of Tamil Nadu, VOL. II, 1987	All districts
Ocimum basilicum L. var. pilosum Benth. = Ocimum × africanum Lour.	Herb	Cultivated, Native of Mediterra nean Region	Flora of Tamil Nadu, VOL. II, 1987	All districts
Ocimum basilicum L. var. purpurascens Benth. = Ocimum basilicum L.	Herb	Cultivated, Native of Mediterra nean Region	Flora of Tamil Nadu, VOL. II, 1987	All districts
Ocimum basilicum L. var. thyrsiflorum Benth. Ocimum basilicum L.	Herb	Cultivated, Native of Mediterra nean Region	Flora of Tamil Nadu, VOL. II, 1987	All districts
Ocimum gratissimum L.	Shrub	Plains to Low Altitude, Moist Localities	Flora of Tamil Nadu, VOL. II, 1987; Matthew 1983	Coimbatore, Dindigul, Kanchee puram, Salem, Theni, Thiruvallur, Tiruchchira ppalli, Tirunelveli, Virudhu nagar
Ocimum tenuiflorum L.	Under shrub	Moist Localities, also Cultivated	Flora of Tamil Nadu, VOL. II, 1987	All districts

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FRLHT Indian Medicinal Plants Nomenclature Database with images/ herbarium, distribution, local names etc. :

Ocimum adscendens WIGHT EX HOOK.F. is a synonym of Endostemon viscosus (Roth) M.R.Ashby Ocimum album L. = Ocimum americanum L.
Ocimum americanum L. Ocimum basilicum L. Var. pilosum  = Ocimum × africanum Lour.
Ocimum basilicum L. Ocimum basilicum L. Var. basilicum
Ocimum basilicum L. Var. majus = Ocimum basilicum L. Ocimum basilicum L. Subsp. minimum DAMERT (?)
Ocimum canum SIMS. = Ocimum americanum L. Ocimum caryophyllatum SCHWEIG EX. SCHRAUK [Unplaced as per WCSP]
Ocimum gratissimum L. Ocimum kilimandscharicum GUERKE
Ocimum pilosum WILLD. = Ocimum × africanum Lour. Ocimum polystachyon L. is a synonym of Basilicum polystachyon (L.) Moench
Ocimum prostratum L. is a synonym of Platostoma menthoides (L.) A.J.Paton Ocimum sanctum L. = Ocimum tenuiflorum L.
Ocimum tenuiflorum L.

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Species with description & pictures in Flowers of India as on 13.6.15:

Botanical name

Synonyms

Family

Common name

Ocimum americanum	Ocimum canum	Lamiaceae	Hoary Basil
Ocimum basilicum		Lamiaceae	Basil
Ocimum gratissimum	Ocimum suave, Ocimum viride, Ocimum viridiflorum	Lamiaceae	Ram Tulsi
Ocimum tenuiflorum	Ocimum sanctum	Lamiaceae	Tulsi

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Indian Medicinal Plants: An Illustrated Dictionary By C.P. Khare (2008)- Details-

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Bioactive Foods and Extracts: Cancer Treatment and Prevention edited by Ronald Ross Watson, Victor R. Preedy (2010)- Details-
Ocimum sanctum L. = Ocimum tenuiflorum

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Connecting Indian Wisdom and Western Science: Plant Usage for Nutrition and … edited by Luisella Verotta, Maria Pia Macchi, Padma Venkatasubramanian (2015)- Details-
Ocimum basilicum

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Aromatherapy: A Practical Approach By Vicki Pitman (2006)- Details-
Ocimum basilicum

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Biodiversity in India, Volume 4 edited by T. Pullaiah (2006)- Details-

Ocimum americanum
Ocimum tenuiflorum

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Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of Himachal Pradesh By Narain Singh Chauhan (1999)- Details-
Ocimum sanctum L. = Ocimum tenuiflorum

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Flora of Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh, India By T. Pullaiah (2000)- Details with keys–

Cultivation and Utilization of Aromatic Plants  By H. Panda (2005)- Details-

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World Spice Plants: Economic Usage, Botany, Taxonomy By Johannes Seidemann (2005)- Details-

Medicinal Plants in Andhra Pradesh, India By T. Pullaiah (2002)- details-

Antidiabetic Plants in India and Herbal Based Antidiabetic Research By T. Pullaiah, K. Chandrasekhar Naidu (2002)- details-

Floristic Diversity of Assam: Study of Pabitora Wildlife Sanctuary By Bora, Yogendra Kumar (2003)- Details-
Ocimum basilicum

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Plant Myths and Traditions in India– Details-
Ocimum sanctum L. = Ocimum tenuiflorum

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Ocimum : 1 post by 1 author.

I have updated eFI (efloraofindia) page on Ocimum (Pl. click).

Attempts have been made to incorporate most of the species available in India & nearby areas with details & keys directly or through links as far as possible. It’s quite possible that there may be some discrepancy in the accepted names & synonyms taken from other links.

Species discussed so far in efloraofindia are given at the bottom of the page in the form of links against Subpages. On clicking them one can see all the details.

If someone can provide complete list of Indian species with source references it will be wonderful.
Any comments/ corrections are welcome.

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‎Ocimum page with images of species in efloraofindia : 1 post by 1 author.

Pl. go through ‎Ocimum page with images of species (done by Bhagyashri ji) in efloraofindia.

If you find any mis-identification, pl. let us know. If anybody can send images of other species of this genera (for incorporation in the website), if any, it will be really nice.
Also, if anybody is interested to take up the activity of inserting images on efloraofindia pages from efloraofindia posts, pl. let us know.

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In regard with Nepal, please check the section : About the temperate Tulsi ecotypes:
Here is my latest monograph:
http://xochipelli.fr/2022/08/in-search-of-the-origins-of-the-temperate-tulsi-with-its-spicy-vanilla-and-myrrh-fragrance-and-its-red-pollen/
Ethiopia is the source of the temperate Tulsi with its spicy scent of vanilla and myrrh… and red pollen
In regard with Nepal, please check the section : About the temperate Tulsi ecotypes, with red pollen, listed as Ocimum americanum in North America and Asia
https://xochipelli.fr/2022/08/in-search-of-the-origins-of-the-temperate-tulsi-with-its-spicy-vanilla-and-myrrh-fragrance-and-its-red-pollen/#12
I love Nepal since my frits trip in 1978. Then I went to Ladack who opened to western people. I am not young anymore.
I went a few times to Nepal, when I was young (Bom Shambu!) and when I was old – and I was, even, once invited by the ministry of agriculture of Bhutan to give a course on organic seed production and it was a fantastic adventure and a privilege.
I am also the founder of Association Kokopelli, in France, with  the biggest spectrum of organic seeds for heirlooms and medicinal plants (with a huge collection of Tulsi) in the world.
https://kokopelli-semences.fr/fr/c/semences/medicinales-aromatiques-et-florales/medicinales/basilics-tulsis
I am also the co-founder, with Stephane, of the Annadana seed bank in Auroville, Tamil Nadu, in 2000 – closed in 2012.
https://annadana-seed.weebly.com/index.html
I started a non-profit seed organisation in Nepal “Kokopelli Himalayas” with a Newari who was friendly… but a crook.
I was, for many years, a botanist in USA, in the deserts, and here are my websites:
https://eriogoneae.com/
https://gaianethnobotany.com/category/liliaceae/calochortus/
https://www.liberterre.fr/gaiasophia/planet-plante/oregon-flora/Fabaceae/indexfabaceae.html