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Ocimum gratissimum
Lamiaceae FAMILY

Ocimum gratissimum

Ocimum gratissimum

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
3/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitShrub
Growth—

Prefers a rich, light, well-drained to dry soil and a position in full sun[1]. All parts of the plant are strongly scented[2]. The optimum harvesting time for distillation of the essential oil is when 3 branches per plant, or 75% of the branches, are flowering. In northern Vietnam 2 - 3 cuts can be obtained in an average year, 4 - 5 cuts per year in the south. In Vietnam, Ocimum gratissimum remains productive for 5 - 10 years[3]. In India, yields of 70 - 75 tonnes per hectare green herbage, producing 400 litres of essential oil in 2 years have been obtained experimentally[3]. In Thailand harvesting every 10 - 12 days resulted in an annual green herbage yield of only 13 tonnes per hectare, and an oil yield of nearly 200 litres[3].

Propagation

Seed - germination rates can be less than 10%[4]. Sow in a nursery seedbed and only just cover the seed. Germination is usually free and quick, prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant out when large enough. Cuttings take about 28 days to root[4]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Ocimum+gratissimum>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. — Bown. D. · Dorling Kindersley, London. · 1995 · ISBN 0-7513-020-31 ↩︎A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
  2. [2]Medicinal Plants in Vietnam — Nguyen Van Dan & Doan Thi Nhu · World Health Organisation · 1989 · ISBN 92 9061 101 4 ↩︎An excellent book, giving information on over 200 plants, their medicinal compounds and applications.
  3. [3]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
  4. [4]Plant Resources of Southeast Asia — http://proseanet.org/ ↩︎Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
  5. [5]Traditional Vegetables in Benin — Achigan-Dako E. Et al · Darwin Initiative; International Foundation for Science · 2009 ↩︎Issued as a PDF on the Internet, it contains basic information on over 250 species of plants used for food in Benin.
  6. [6]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
  7. [7]Medicinal Plants of the Guianas — DeFilipps, R. A.; Maina, S. L.; & Crepin, J. · Smithsonian Museum · http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/index.html ↩︎A down-loadable PDF document of a book in pre-publication awaiting illustration. An excellent, if rather terse, guide to the traditional medicinal uses of the plants of the region
  8. [8]Antimicrobial Activity of Tanzanian Chewing Sticks Against Oral Pathogenic Microbes — Maryam N. Khan, Olipa Ngassapa & Mecky I.N. Matee · 2000 · https://doi.org/10.1076/1388-0209(200007)3831-SFT235 ↩︎