MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC CROPS (2+1)

Description of the plant

It is an erect, herebaceous, much-branched softly hairy, biennial or triennial plant, 30-75 cm tall. The leaves are elliptic-oblong, acute or obtuse, entire or serrate, pubescent on both sides, minutely gland dotted: the flowers are purplish or crimson, in racemes, close-whorled: the nutlets are subglobose or broadly ellipsoid, slightly compressed, nearly smooth,pale-brown or reddish with small, black markings.

Types and varieties
In India, two types of O. sanctum are under cultivation; the green type (Sri Tulsi) is the most common, the second type (Krishna Tulsi) bears purple leaves and is preferred in the trade for its higher potency of the drug. Many new varieties have been released from RRLs and CIMAP, Lucknow. Among them CIM-Angana, CIM-Soumya are important.