Basil Plant. The Bright and Dark side of it.
Basil Plant. The Bright and Dark side of it.
Basil plant botanical name is Ocimum basilicum. It is described as herb, and Basil is found in several types with the most common being sweet basil. Other types include purple basil, lemon basil and Thai basil (Hengel, 2012). Basil has been treated and used differently in different cultures and peoples of the world.
Basil Plant has also been used in many other poems. Sandy James who is a yahoo contributor wrote this poem about Basil.
“An excellent container pot plant;
“Sweet basil is the best;
“Indoor start by seed is easy;
“Lovely fragrant, edible herb;”
Still another sweet piece in poetry about basil by Basil Elixir, called Basil love poem
“Sweet spicy sisterYou warm my center,”
“tingle my tongue, and soothe my worries”
“Your dancing perfume clears my mind,
“Stirring the green muse of food and drink and plenty of clarity and comprehension”
“Sweet, spicy sister of Basil, Mistress to garlic and lemons..”
“Sister Tulsi you candid basil, you. With soft leaves and a halo of honey bees and a million light purple flowers radiating! ”
A similar poem about Basil written by poet Sharma, from peothunter.com titled *The Basil Plant;
“The basil plant is gods abode, trinity blessings in it is endowed”
“Blessed the place where it grows, Air purifies where its fragrance flows..”
“.Ample of oxygen basil plant generates, let your life with divinity venerate”
“Have basil plant in your compound, worship, nurture for health profound”.
Basil other poem written by poet Haridasan goes like this
“Thulasi, we call it in hindusthani, Basil plant being auspicious one,”
“Auspicious in all Hindu families, the plant is worshipped everywhere”.
“its leaves are used in worshiping God, it is specially liked by Lord Krishna,”
“Who as the legend says, treats thulasi as one of his wives”
“Basil plants are part of the fragrant plants, fragrant plants of the mint family,”
“Its leaves have medicinal values, can also be used to flavor curries”
A similar poem written by Daniel Kington about Basil plant, titled Basil plant
“The basil plant in the window was dead,”
“When we arrived I am not sure at what point it was replaced,”
“but over a glass of wine I realized that it was again leafy and full”
The West and East cultures use Basil for different reasons. In the west, Basil has been used for cooking, mostly in culinary uses mostly in Italian dishes. It is a heritage in Italian cooking (Kennedy, 2007). It is a traditional remedy that has been used in many cultures for hundreds of years. It is added in most cooking’s as a recipe. Basil Pesto is used in most of households. Basil can be dried and used in most cooking as a herb that adds depth and flavor to meals. Basil is also used to calm the stomach, and treat stomach disorders (Panda & National Institute of Industrial Research, 2004). It has been argued out that a half teaspoon of dried or fresh basil added to water, can help sooth indigestion and alleviate feeling of fullness (Rai, 2011). Basil also it is said treats coughs and colds. Chewing of fresh leaves calms cough, or dried basil can be used to make tea that calms cough and colds. This is done mostly by Amish.
Basil is used also for calming headache and relief pain (Kremezi & Botsacos, 2010). This is done as a facial steam, with dried basil leaf in boiling water in large pot. For this to work, a person covers the face with a towel and breathes steam for about 5-10 minutes. Research findings have also indicated that Basil can be used as an antibiotic, especially basil oil (Bhattathiry, 2012). Further research about these finding have been launched. Basil acts as a pain killer to bites and stings. Chewing of basil leaf and applying to the bite area relives pain and draws out the venom. Mountain rose herbs have done research and found that basil oil when dropped in the ear, acts as anti bacterial and relieves ear infections (Arshi, 2013). Using dried basil for a long time in making tea, and drinking as juice levels, reduces blood sugar levels. It is also pointed out that Basil reduces stress. Adding strong Basil leaf tea to warm bath reduces stress and encourages relaxation (Hiltunen & Holm, 2009). Basil is used also to make cosmetics due to its strong aroma. Making oil for salads can also be done from basil plant (Traditional uses of Sweet Basil, 2011).
In India, sweet basil is believed to hold divine essence. Sacred basil is used by the Hindus for cooking and medicinal purposes. In India, it was considered a powerful protector and was planted around temples (Kristen, 2011). Basil plant was also laid with the dead that symbolized sacredness by Hindus.
In Greek and Latin culture, especially the Orthodox Church uses it to prepare holy water because it was found growing around Christ’s tomb after the resurrection (Rich, 2006). Greek mythology believes that basil appeared after Ocimus, who was in charge and organized combat in honor of Paras who ruled Paralia (The How to Grow Basil Plants, 2007). In ancient Greek, basil was also associated with poverty, misfortune and hate. This was due to the prevailing belief that basil only prospered where there was abuse. Still in Greece, they associated basil to bad fortunes because during planting season, it was characterized by shouting and cursing (PLANT CULTURES, 2010).
Bush basil is associated with Erzulie, a pagan love goddess found in Haiti. It is also used in love relations in Mexico where users believe that it attracts lovers. In Crete, basil is considered an emblem of the devil, and was placed on most window-ledges as a charm against the devil influence (Miller & Miller, 2008).
References
“PLANT CULTURES-Holy Basil in traditional medicine” (2010). Available at; http:// www.kew.org/plant-cultures/plants/ holy-basil-in traditional-medicine.html
“The How to Grow Basil Plants. How to grow Basil plants and the health benefits of basil. (2007). Available at: http://www.Discover.square.foot.gardening/the-how-grow-basil-plants.html
“Traditional uses of Sweet Basil”, Jan. 2011. Available at: http://www.Naturalstandard.com/traditional-usese-of-sweet-basil.html
Arshi, S. (2013). Amazing Benefits of Tulsi/Basil for Skin, Hair and Health. 12 Sep. http:// www.stylecraze.com>Home.Articles.Health and Wellness> Ingredients-and-uses.html
Bhattathiry, M.P. (2012). 15 benefits of the Holy Basil (Tulsi)- About Hinduism. http://Huinduism.about.com>About.com>religion and spirituality>Hinduism>ayurveda &Healthcare.html.
Elixir, B. (2012). Basil Love Poem. Available at: http: // plantjourneys.blogspot.com/2012/09/10basil-love-poem..html.
Haridasan, E.P. (2012) Basil plant. Available at: http: www.poetry.com/../959659-Basil-plant Nov.12
Hengel, K. (2012). Cool basil from garden to table: How to plant, grow, and prepare basil. Minneapolis, Minn: ABDO.
Hiltunen, R., & Holm, Y. (2009). Basil: The Genus Ocimum. London: CRC Press.
Kennedy, S. B. (2007). Paul Henry: With a catalogue of paintings, drawings, illustrations. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press.
Kington, D. (2013). Basil Plant. Available at: http://Hellopoetry.com/poem/basil-plant/. html, Sep 1.
Kremezi, A., & Botsacos, J. (2010). The foods of the Greek islands: Cooking and culture at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, including some recipes from New York's acclaimed Molyvos Restaurant, owners, the Livanos family, executive chef, Jim Botsacos. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Kristen, H. (2011) Harvesting Basil 101/ Food Renegade. June 21. Available at: http:// www.food.renegade.com/harvesting-basil.html
Miller, R. A., & Miller, I. (2008). The magical and ritual use of perfumes. Rochester, Vt: Destiny Books.
Panda, H., & National Institute of Industrial Research (India). (2004). Aromatic plants cultivation, processing and uses. Delhi, India: Asia Pacific Business Press.
Rai, Y. (2011). Holy basil Tulsi: A herb : a unique medicinal plant. Ahmedabad u.a: Gala Publ.
Rich, V. (2006). Cursing the basil and other folklore of the garden. Victoria, B.C: Horsdal & Schubart.
Sandy James, 2011, Feb 16. Basil Poem. Yahoo contributor Network. http://yahoo voices-voices.yahoo.com
Sharma, C.P. (2013) Basil Plant Available at: http:// www.poem hunter.com>poems>, Oct 16.
Watkins, D. P. (2009). Keats's poetry and the politics of the imagination. Rutherford [N.J.: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press.
