Fwd: Here are my recent monographs, and 2025 reports, about the main Ocimum species
Saroj Kasaju
From: Xochipelli <Xochi...@protonmail.com>
Date: Wed, Nov 26, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Subject: Here are my recent monographs, and 2025 reports, about the main Ocimum species
To: kasaj...@gmail.com <kasaj...@gmail.com>
Dear fellow researchers in Ocimum
Here are my recent monographs, and 2025 reports, about the main Ocimum species - translated into English. I wrote many more but they are in French.
“Basils 2025” – Fifth Report: Floral and Reproductive Biology, and Genetic analysis, of the main Basil species”. Link.
“Fourth Report: How can you easily distinguish between different species of Basil?”. LINK.
“Third Report: Reproductive biology and interspecific crossings in Ocimum kilimandscharicum”. LINK.
““Basils 2025” – Second Report”. LINK.
““Basils 2025” – First Report”. LINK.
“What the Fake is Going on in the Ocimum world? A Manifesto in Homage to the Ethiopian Besobila, Ocimum bisabolenum”. LINK.
“About my discovery of spontaneous crosses, with orange pollen, between Ocimum basilicum and Ocimum kilimandscharicum”. LINK.
“Ethiopia is the source of the temperate Tulsi with its spicy scent of vanilla and myrrh… and red pollen - Ocimum bisabolenum”. LINK.
This year, in Spain, I grew more than 85 types of Basil in my garden and I made many discoveries - of which the quasi self/sterility of Ocimum kilimandscharicum. I am presently growing many natural crosses (sterile for the moment) involving Ocimum kilimandscharicum crossed with X and Ocimum bisabolenum crossed with X.
I am Xochi, aka Dominique Guillet, the founder of Association Kokopelli, in 1999, in France.
Kokopelli has the biggest offer of organic seeds of Open Pollinated varieties and species in the world.
Of which a huge collection of Tulsi and Other Ocimum:
https://kokopelli-semences.fr/fr/c/semences/medicinales-aromatiques-et-florales/medicinales/basilics
Some of my written contributions concern, more specifically, my discovery of the species status, and Ethiopian origin, of the so-called “Temperate Tulsi” which is, in fact, the Ethiopian Besobila - and which I named, in 2022, Ocimum bisabolenum.
I introduced it in the organic seed market in France and Europe in 1994. Since then, it was given many species names: Ocimum basilicum, Ocimum tenuiflorum, Ocimum americanum, Ocimum gratissimum and Ocimum kilimandscharicum.
My discovery, in 2022, of the Ethiopian source of the Temperate Tulsi puts a term to 70 years of botanical chaos in the Ocimum world. I named it Ocimum bisabolenum as per its high ratio of the terpene Bisabolene (this name coming from the Basil "Besobila" and also "Bisabol", in Hindi and Arabic, the Myrrh) - and then high ratio of Eugenol, Estragol and Eucalyptol... which are the 4 main components of its essential oil.
Ocimum bisabolenum has a very limited range in eastern Africa (Ethiopia up to 2800 meters elevation) and, thus, there is hardly no phenotypic and chemotypic diversity in the species.
My discovery, in 2022, in our gardens, was induced by the fact that the GRIN/USDA genetic center, in Ames, Iowa, proposes 9 ecotypes of Ocimum tenuiflorum/sanctum which are, strictly, the Besobila, Ocimum bisabolenum.
By the way, there exists, still, a huge botanical chaos concerning the presence, in many studies, of the Lemon type Basils (with a Citral chemotype) which are still integrated in Ocimum basilicum when they are, strictly, Ocimum americanum var. pilosum - as per many genetic studies.
All the best.
Xochi. aka Dominique Guillet.