Someone pointed out recently that Basil isn't Mediterranean in origin,
but tropical. This explains a lot - especially about why it's pretty
hard to grow outdoors here.

I'm just curious - from what country does it originate?

Lazarus

--
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Torquay?
--
Rhiannon
http://www.livejournal.com/users/rhiannon_s/
"The trick is to commit crimes so confusing that police feel too stupid to even
write a crime report about them."
Aubrey on remaining at liberty
www.somethingpositive.net

In article ,
Lazarus Cooke writes:
| Someone pointed out recently that Basil isn't Mediterranean in origin,
| but tropical. This explains a lot - especially about why it's pretty
| hard to grow outdoors here.
|
| I'm just curious - from what country does it originate?

Dunno. Tropical asia, somewhere, but it has been cultivated for
so long that quite likely nobody knows. There are lots of plants
like that.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

India or the Middle East.


"Lazarus Cooke" wrote in message
om...
Someone pointed out recently that Basil isn't Mediterranean in origin,
but tropical. This explains a lot - especially about why it's pretty
hard to grow outdoors here.

I'm just curious - from what country does it originate?

Lazarus

--
Remover the rock from the email address

Hmm. Ive found two references to "basil originally comes from" in
Google. One says Africa

http://www.essential-oil.org/shop/item19070.htm

the other says India and the Far East

http://www.edenproject.com/3473_134.htm

The plot thickens!

Lazarus.

ps. Then of course maybe it is Torquay. Seems a good place to come from.

--
Remover the rock from the email address

Just say you don't know, Nick, and don't speak for others.

If you did any actual research on basil, you would find that it is
considered to have been brought from India or the Middle East where allied
Ocimum species are also found.


"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...

In article ,
Lazarus Cooke writes:
| Someone pointed out recently that Basil isn't Mediterranean in origin,
| but tropical. This explains a lot - especially about why it's pretty
| hard to grow outdoors here.
|
| I'm just curious - from what country does it originate?

Dunno. Tropical asia, somewhere, but it has been cultivated for
so long that quite likely nobody knows. There are lots of plants
like that.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 29 Apr 2004 13:59:31 GMT, emon (Rhiannon S)
wrote:

Torquay?

SMACK meester Fawlty ...

ubject: Where *does* basil come from?
From: martin
Date: 29/04/2004 15:32 GMT Daylight Time
Message-id:

On 29 Apr 2004 13:59:31 GMT, emon (Rhiannon S)
wrote:

Torquay?

SMACK meester Fawlty ...


I'm so sorry, he's from Barcelona you know...

IGMC
--
Rhiannon
http://www.livejournal.com/users/rhiannon_s/
"The trick is to commit crimes so confusing that police feel too stupid to even
write a crime report about them."
Aubrey on remaining at liberty
www.somethingpositive.net

Lazarus Cooke wrote:

Someone pointed out recently that Basil isn't Mediterranean in origin,
but tropical. This explains a lot - especially about why it's pretty
hard to grow outdoors here.

I used to grow it outside in Southern New Zealand as an annual in the
summer. Nothing special, in crappy soil in the herb garden next to the
oreganum and in front of the thyme. Nothing tropical needed, if I'd
tried to do the same in sub tropical Auckland it would have been eaten
by half a dozen species of invertebrates in only a few hours.

Peter
--
Add my middle initial to email me. It has become attached to a country

In article ,
Peter Ashby wrote:
Lazarus Cooke wrote:

Someone pointed out recently that Basil isn't Mediterranean in origin,
but tropical. This explains a lot - especially about why it's pretty
hard to grow outdoors here.

I used to grow it outside in Southern New Zealand as an annual in the
summer. Nothing special, in crappy soil in the herb garden next to the
oreganum and in front of the thyme. Nothing tropical needed, if I'd
tried to do the same in sub tropical Auckland it would have been eaten
by half a dozen species of invertebrates in only a few hours.

That is extremely good evidence of the fact that it is a true tropical!

Basil (Ocimum basilicum) originated in tropical Asia, perhaps India,
and has been cultivated for a VERY long time. The prevalence of
parasites is strong evidence of an origin in a similar ecology.
Also, it is a perennial in its natural habitat but, like many tropical
perennials, will grow as an annual in colder climates.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In article , Nick Maclaren
wrote:

Basil (Ocimum basilicum) originated in tropical Asia, perhaps India,
and has been cultivated for a VERY long time. The prevalence of
parasites is strong evidence of an origin in a similar ecology.
Also, it is a perennial in its natural habitat but, like many tropical
perennials, will grow as an annual in colder climates.

Thanks for this. I think it may have been you, nick who pointed out the
tropical origins?

But (blushes), I didn't quite get the full gist of your point about the
parasites? Could you expand? ( I *think* I understand, but might be
wrong, ok?)

Lazarus

--
Remover the rock from the email address

In article ,
Lazarus Cooke wrote:
In article , Nick Maclaren
wrote:

Basil (Ocimum basilicum) originated in tropical Asia, perhaps India,
and has been cultivated for a VERY long time. The prevalence of
parasites is strong evidence of an origin in a similar ecology.
Also, it is a perennial in its natural habitat but, like many tropical
perennials, will grow as an annual in colder climates.

Thanks for this. I think it may have been you, nick who pointed out the
tropical origins?

But (blushes), I didn't quite get the full gist of your point about the
parasites? Could you expand? ( I *think* I understand, but might be
wrong, ok?)

Generally, after a long time, organisms settle down in adaptation to
their environment, and that includes their relationships to parasites.
Thus a sign of an ancient parasite is that it does not kill or even
seriously debilitate its host - though things aren't quite that simple.

Equally, a sign that an organism is not in its natural environment is
often that it is NOT attacked by parasites or (occasionally) that it
is attacked and killed by them. The latter is more often indicative
of a parasite that has been introduced from elsewhere, of course.

Take a look at wild plants and/or weeds, and you will see that they
normally have low levels of parasitism - rust on weeds is an obvious
example in late summer - but they don't seem to be seriously harmed.
That is USUALLY evidence that they have evolved together.

One of the main reasons that prickly pear became a pest in Australia
was that it had no parasites in that environment; the solution was to
introduce one :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Nick Maclaren wrote:


One of the main reasons that prickly pear became a pest in Australia
was that it had no parasites in that environment; the solution was to
introduce one :-)

Similarly gorse in New Zealand, they introduced the gorse pod weevil to
help control it.

Peter

--
Add my middle initial to email me. It has become attached to a country

Yes thanks. I see. As in common cold and, say, HIV.

Lazarus

--
Remover the rock from the email address

In article ,
Lazarus Cooke wrote:
Yes thanks. I see. As in common cold and, say, HIV.

Yes, precisely.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.