Plant · P-578

Basil

Ocimum basilicum

Basil is a fast-growing aromatic herb, perennial in the tropics but killed outright by frost, which is why it is grown as an annual almost everywhere else. Its leaves, flowers and seed are all edible - the seed turns mucilaginous when soaked and is used to make the drink sherbet tokhum - and it also does double duty as pest control, repelling mosquitoes, houseflies and greenhouse pests when the living or dried plant is kept close by. Bees love its flowers, which is the real reason behind its old reputation as a companion for tomatoes, though it does poorly planted with rue or sage and can slow the fruiting of nearby raspberries. It contains estragole, a compound flagged as potentially carcinogenic in concentrated form, so it is not taken during pregnancy or given as oil to infants.